Stats NZ said fruit was the standout with exports up 54 per cent but dairy exports rose 7.6 per cent and meat rose 11 per cent. The trade surplus for the month was $672 million.
"That trade data this morning was very good if you go into the detail," said Tim Kelleher, head of foreign exchange sales at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
ASB economist Nathan Penny said he had been expecting a surplus of about $500m.
"We expect NZ's goods exports to hold up relatively well over 2020 while NZ's service exports – read tourism – bear most of the brunt from Covid-19," Penny said.
Kelleher said the market's attention was now focused on what the Federal Reserve would say after its latest meeting early tomorrow, New Zealand time.
He doesn't expect much from the Fed but noted that the market may be disappointed.
"The market's talking about the Fed going negative" in terms of interest rates. "The market's convinced itself of doom and gloom and the Fed's going to save them."
End of month flows could also impact the currency, he said.
The Financial Times reported that the market will be looking to see whether Fed chair Jerome Powell is still expecting an economic rebound in the second half of the year.
In March, Powell had expressed confidence in the central bank's ability to shield the world's biggest economy from the worst impact of the coronavirus crisis.
Since then, oil prices have crashed, consumer confidence has plummeted and more than 26 million Americans have filed unemployment claims.
The New Zealand dollar was trading at 93.26 Australian cents from 93.05 cents at 5pm yesterday. It was at 48.84 British pence from 48.32, at 56.15 euro cents from 55.40, at 64.91 yen from 64.33 and at 4.3087 Chinese yuan from 4.2492.
The bid price on the two-year swap rate closed at 0.2025 per cent from 0.1625 per cent yesterday, and the 10-year swaps were at 0.8000 per cent from 0.7550.
