The New Zealand dollar had a quiet day today, spending much of the afternoon session within a five-point range.
By 5pm the kiwi was buying US58.49c, up from US58.25c late yesterday, while the aussie was at US65.54c (US65.50c).
Westpac chief currency dealer Basil Payn said the kiwi traded between US58.38/52c during the day.
'It's been trading mainly this afternoon between US58.45/50c, it's been a very quiet day with the stock exchange out for quite a while."
Trading on the New Zealand Exchange was halted for 4-1/2 hours today after a computer glitch, which it blamed on a software upgrade.
Volume was already thin this week because of the current northern hemisphere summer holiday period.
"I guess the market's pretty much in consolidation mode to see whether the euro can break through this US$1.110/50 support level," Mr Payn said.
Overnight the kiwi was likely to remain constrained between support of US58.20c and resistance of US58.70c.
In Tokyo the greenback was firmer as the euro sagged on the weak outlook for Europe's economy and the yen softened on wariness of intervention by Japanese authorities.
In Wellington at 5pm the euro eased to US$1.1113 from US$1.1128 last night, while the US dollar was buying 118.63 yen (119.39).
On the crosses at 5pm the kiwi was buying A89.25c (A88.92c yesterday), 69.37 yen (69.57), 36.85 pence (36.69), 0.8143 Swiss francs (0.8109), and 0.5264 euro (0.5238).
The Australian dollar was buying $1.1203 ($1.1242).
The monetary conditions index was at plus 298 (287), the trade-weighted index was at 62.93 (62.76) and 90-day bank bill yields were at 5.13 per cent (5.14).
The February 2005 yields were at 5.27 per cent (5.26), the November 2006s were at 5.47 per cent (5.51), and the November 2011s were at 5.83 per cent (5.90).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi treads water in quiet market
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