KEY POINTS:
After hitting a new post-float high against the greenback yesterday evening the NZ dollar eased slightly but at 8am was still buying around US76.30c.
The kiwi is riding a global wave of demand for high yielding currencies.
That demand appears to have been little affected by the Reserve Bank's intervention in the market this month in a bid to push the NZ dollar down.
The kiwi peaked around 6.30pm yesterday at US76.58c, according to Reuters data, its highest level since being floated in 1985.
It had started climbing rapidly from around US75.80c about 11am yesterday.
The Reserve Bank's intervention in the market this month, for the first time since the currency was floated, has failed to limit the kiwi's gains, as investors flock to the highest interest rates in the industrialised world, of 8 per cent.
The other big gainer overnight was the Australian dollar, with it and the NZ dollar benefiting as strong global economic growth has driven demand for the commodity exports of both countries, putting upward pressure on their interest rates.
While both antipodean currencies were strong the NZ dollar looked to have pipped its trans-Tasman counterpart, peaking against the aussie around 6pm yesterday at A90.54c, then easing to be at A90.08c at 8am today.
The ANZ bank said today that with plenty of supply into the market the NZ dollar would struggle to go higher against the Australian currency.
The kiwi has been above A90c only a few times since February 2006.
Against the yen, the NZ dollar just keeps rising, with the latest peak around 6pm yesterday at 94.69.
The kiwi has put in a stellar performance against the Japanese currency in recent months, having risen from below 89 yen at the end of May and below 79 yen early in March.
Against the euro, the kiwi was at 0.5697 at 8am today, the same as it was at 4.30pm yesterday. The trade weighted index was at 74.31, having peaked overnight at 74.62, from 74.37 yesterday afternoon.
8am today:
NZ dlr/US dlr US76.28c
NZ dlr/Aust dlr A90.08c
NZ dlr/euro 0.5697
NZ dlr/yen 94.34
NZ dlr/stg 38.29p
Cross rates:
Australian dollar US84.69c US84.48c
Euro/US dollar 1.3390 1.3396
US dollar/yen 123.67 123.65
- NZPA