The New Zealand dollar was little changed in the lead-up to the Christmas holiday, which left markets quieter than usual.
The kiwi traded at 68.02 US cents at 6:30pm in Wellington from 67.86 cents at 8am, down from 68.14 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index 73.79 from 74.02 yesterday.
Trading was quiet ahead of the Christmas and New Year holiday period as investors continued to tidy up their books. The local currency has been supported over the past week with New Zealand's relatively high interest rates seen as offering a good yield through the holidays. The yield on New Zealand's 10-year government bond closed at 3.595 percent, 134 basis points higher than its US equivalent.
"People are finally squaring up their last bits and pieces before the break," said Stuart Ive, senior dealer foreign exchange at OMF in Wellington. "The kiwi remains elevated with the market exceptionally quiet."
New Zealand's two-year swap rate was unchanged at 2.86 percent, and 10-year swaps were at 3.74 percent.
The local currency fell to 93.72 Australian cents from 94.17 cents yesterday, and fell to 4.4059 Chinese yuan from 4.4121 yuan. It declined to 82.01 yen from 82.46 yen yesterday, and was little changed at 62.19 euro cents from 62.23 cents. It slipped to 45.69 British pence from 45.93 pence.