The New Zealand dollar arrested its slide today, stabilising at US68.33c at the local close of business.
The kiwi had traded up from US68.37c at yesterday's close to US68.46c but failed to hold its gain.
Dealers said most traders had reversed their strategy -- instead of buying the kiwi on dips, they were selling into rallies.
The kiwi was still dancing to the tune of the US dollar and US consumer confidence data and a speech by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan would determine direction.
If the news was dollar-positive then the kiwi was likely to revisit Friday's low of US67.40c, ANZ Investment Bank chief dealer Murray Hindley said.
If it was the other way, then the kiwi was initially likely to quickly test US69.20c on its way back to US70c.
He said his bank had yet to form a view on whether the Reserve Bank of New Zealand would lift interest rates again on March 11, but there was a growing body of opinion that the bank might not follow through last month's rate hike.
The Australian dollar firmed to US77.35c from its US77.06c opening and against US77.25c at 5pm last night.
The greenback closed here at 108.65 yen (108.81 yen), while the euro was US$1.2535, up from US$1.2509 last night, but still well down on its Friday close of US$1.2742.
On the crosses at 5pm, the kiwi was buying A88.31c (A88.52c), 0.5448 euro (0.5466), 74.19 yen (74.37), 36.63 British pence (36.82), and 0.8602 Swiss Francs (0.8621).
The trade-weighted index fell to 67.65 (67.78), while the monetary conditions index was at plus 709 (719).
The 90-day bank bill yields were steady on 5.62 per cent. The February 2006 yields were at 5.57 per cent (5.61), July 2009 bonds at 5.79 per cent (5.85), and the April 2013s at 5.95 per cent from 6.00 per cent.
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> NZ dollar arrests slide
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