KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar was slightly stronger today as markets reopened after the Christmas break, but remained firmly within its three-month range.
By 8am, the kiwi was at US76.74c, from US76.37c on Monday, Christmas Eve. The currency traded between a 10-day high of US76.95c and US76.36c.
Against the Aussie, the kiwi was buying A87.80c from A88.40c on Monday, and it had risen to 87.62 yen from Monday's 86.31.
New Zealand markets are open for three days this week, and three days next week.
Overnight, the US dollar slid against a basket of major currencies in thin trade while the yen traded near seven-week lows as investors continued to fund carry trades by borrowing the Japanese currency.
Carry trades, in which investors use a low-yielding currency to fund investment in high yielders, favour the New Zealand dollar and others such as the Australian dollar, but are unpopular when the environment is seen as increasingly risky.
"We are seeing the (US) dollar head a little lower today, but given volumes are extremely light, we can't really see its drop as a major trend," said Andrew Busch, a global foreign- exchange strategist with The Bank of Montreal in Chicago. "I'm recommending my clients to step outside forex markets until the end of the year."
Currency traders shrugged off data showing US home prices in October posted their biggest annual drop in the history of the S&P/Case-Shiller index.
- NZPA