The New Zealand dollar held on to its position during an unspectacular day's trading ahead of a major meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB).
The kiwi closed at US 39.39c after opening at 39.37c, having hit record lows against the greenback overnight.
The aussie and kiwi were both pressured by fresh losses in the euro, which was at US 83.97c at 5 pm (New Zealand time).
In New York, the Australian dollar tumbled to lows of 51.59c, while the New Zealand dollar plumbed lows at 39.05c.
On a positive note, currency house HSBC said the Australasian currencies touched the lows only briefly before buying interest emerged.
Jon Clarke of Greenwich Financial Services said the kiwi had not been able to move higher yesterday. "The reason the ECB meeting is becoming a major focus is because there's an increasing disharmony among leading finance ministers in Europe and bank chief Wim Duisenberg.
"It's made the market a little bit nervous. There was a growing feeling up until last night's price action that maybe the euro was starting to show some signs of stability and that has obviously been destroyed."
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi up from overnight lows
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