KEY POINTS:
Exporters have had only a brief respite as the New Zealand dollar rebounded sharply again today.
By 5pm it was buying US69.25c against US68.60c at the same time yesterday and up from a one-month low of US68.40c touched in overnight trading.
The kiwi has fallen from near US71c a week ago, after a run up in December that took it to a one-year high against the greenback.
In December 2005 the kiwi got to around US72c, then started a decline which took it below US60c last June before strengthening over the second half of 2006.
Expectations of another rate hike when the Reserve Bank reviews official rates again on January 25 have been behind the kiwi's climb.
The kiwi strengthened on all the major crosses, finishing on A88.50c against the Australian dollar from A87.94c yesterday while the trade weighted index lifted to 68.63 from 68.05.
ANZ Bank said the kiwi had consolidated as a Tokyo holiday brought some relief from recent selling pressures.
The US dollar fell from six-week peaks against major European currencies as profit-taking set in following last week's rally on the back of robust US employment data.
The greenback also fell against the yen as dealers poised for the Bank of Japan possibly raising rates next week.
Investors are looking to next week's Bank of Japan policy meeting at which many expect the bank will raise interest rates.
Few market players expected the US dollar to keep sliding since the buoyant numbers for December made it less likely that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates later this year.
"What the dollar faces now is a backlash against last week's big rally," said Masafumi Yamamoto, currency strategist at Nikko Citigroup.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said the US economy was poised for moderate growth and lower inflation, but that there was no guarantee core inflation would continue to ease.
The following are Reuters currency rates:
5pm today 5.30pm yesterday
NZ dlr/US dlr US69.25c US68.60c
NZ dlr/Aust dlr A88.50c A87.94c
NZ dlr/euro 0.5312 0.5276
NZ dlr/yen 82.33 81.25
NZ dlr/stg 35.65p 35.56p
NZ TWI 68.63 68.05
Australian dollar US78.27c US77.99c
Euro/US dollar 1.3036 1.2999
US dollar/yen 118.90 118.44
- NZPA