International trading of the New Zealand dollar has hit its highest level ever.
A three-yearly survey by the Bank of International Settlement found the kiwi was the 10th most actively traded currency in April, accounting for a record 2% of the $US5.3 trillion in turnover.
The Australian dollar accounted for 8.6% of turnover, also a new record.
Bancorp Treasury Services senior client advisor Peter Cavanaugh says efforts by Japan to kickstart its economy, a weaker US dollar and signs of rising activity in New Zealand all helped push the kiwi up in April.
The Reserve Bank says New Zealand's foreign exchange market handled an average of $US12.4 billion per day in April, compared with $US9.5 billion in April 2010.
But that is below the peak of April 2007.
Appreciation of the currency accounted for two-thirds of the increase.
