The New Zealand dollar retreated yesterday after peaking at a one-month high against the greenback early on Saturday as investors became less averse to risk.
The NZ dollar was at US75.04c at 5pm, which was down from US75.21c at 8am but was still above the US74.85c at 5pm on Friday.
The local
currency got to around US75.75c on Saturday, its highest level since February 22 - the day a devastating earthquake hit Christchurch. It has climbed steadily since dropping to a 6-month low against the US dollar around US71.15c on March 17.
A supportive factor has been a firm Australian dollar, which is sitting just below a 29-year peak.
The focus is on this week's National Bank Business Outlook survey, which is seen as the first comprehensive measure of post-earthquake business confidence.
"We would be very surprised if the headline confidence level didn't collapse," BNZ economists said.
Westpac said yesterday that reinsurance flows from the earthquake were providing a surprising degree of support for the NZ dollar.
