NZ dollar gains from three-month low

The kiwi was little changed at 84.15 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 84.13 cents at 5pm yesterday.

The New Zealand dollar gained from a three-month low on speculation the kiwi will benefit along with the Australian dollar from what is expected to be stronger Australian economic growth data tomorrow.

The kiwi traded at 84.57 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from as low as 84.37 cents at the start of the day and from 84.68 cents late yesterday. The New Zealand dollar slipped to 91.29 Australian cents from 91.36 cents at 8am and from 91.45 cents yesterday.

Figures tomorrow will show the Australian economy expanded 1.1 percent in the first quarter, based on a Westpac Banking Corp forecast. That may help lift the Australian dollar and drag the kiwi up with it. Australia's central bank today kept its cash rate at a record low 2.5 percent while noticing some additional signs of growth in the economy of New Zealand's second-largest market.

By contrast, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to hike its official cash rate to 3.25 percent at next week's monetary policy statement.

"A bit of a pop higher in the Aussie should carry the kiwi along with it," said Robert Rennie, Westpac's chief currency strategist in Sydney. "In the New Zealand economy, we're seeing lower dairy and business confidence but still record-breaking migration and that's an important part of the story. I'm not totally convinced that kiwi-Aussie continuing to fall into the MPS is totally valid."

The trade-weighted index slipped to 79.10 from 79.16 and didn't move much after government figures showed the terms of trade edged closer to an all-time high in the first quarter as dairy products led a gain in export prices and petroleum products led import prices lower.

The kiwi was little changed at 62.16 euro cents from 62.14 cents at the start of the day and edged lower to 50.50 British pence from 50.57 pence. It gained to 86.53 yen from 86.38 yen the previous day.