KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar held gains today as a tug-of-war developed in the US dollar market between believers in its recent rally and sceptics.
The kiwi had fallen to US70.40c on Tuesday then bounced back overnight to peak around US71.50c early today. It held that level to end its local session at US71.52c by 5pm.
The greenback has been hit by a bout of profit-taking after recent gains. Rises in crude oil prices and renewed worries about the financial sector played to the dollar sceptics.
"We are seeing a temporary respite from the US dollar strength that we have witnessed," Gareth Sylvester, currency strategist, at HiFX in San Francisco in California.
The ANZ bank said the NZ dollar had put in a stronger performance on dips.
With a weaker US dollar and higher commodities, it was not surprising to see the NZ and Australian dollars gaining ground, ANZ said.
The kiwi continued its climb against the aussie, from A81.50c at 5pm yesterday, to a 2-1/2-month high near A82.20c early today before settling at A81.95c by the local close.
The NZ dollar also gained on the Japanese currency to 78.54 yen at 5pm from 77.88 yen at yesterday's local close, while against the European currency the kiwi rose to 0.4842 euro from 48.22. The trade weighted index was 66.52 at 5pm from 66.05.
- NZPA