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NZ dollar vs US dollar
The New Zealand dollar has managed to hang on to gains made on domestic economic news on Monday, tending to move around the US70 cents level overnight.
The dollar rose in late Monday morning trade after news that manufacturing sales volumes increased by a stronger-than-expected 3.1% in the December quarter, while residential building work rose 7.4%.
The Kiwi peaked at a two-week high against the greenback around US70.35c at about 3.30am on Tuesday, and by 8.00am was buying US70.03c, little changed from its 5.00pm Monday level.
BNZ strategist Mike Jones says the dollar was the strongest performing currency during the 24 hours to 8am.
He says Monday's GDP indicators are a clear reminder of the New Zealand economic turnaround believed to be brewing.
Overnight, currency markets struggled for direction.
Easing fears about the fiscal health of European sovereigns kept investors' risk appetite humming.
Most notably, the head of the IMF said Greece's problems were unlikely to spread to the rest of Europe, which helped European sovereign credit spreads narrow further and risk-sensitive currencies such as the New Zealand dollar extend their gains, according to Jones.
The Australian dollar found fleeting support against the greenback from Royal Dutch Shell's $A3.3 billion offer for Australia's Arrow Energy, which saw the Kiwi briefly flirt with its highs around US70.30c.
The dollar also reached a fortnight high against the Japanese currency, peaking around 63.55 yen, before easing to 63.28 yen by the local open, up from 63.20 yen at 5.00pm on Monday.
The Kiwi rose to 0.5136 euro at the local open, and was up to A76.94c from A76.80c at the local close.
The trade weighted index was up to 64.77 at 8.00am from 64.60 the night before.
