The New Zealand dollar has hit a fresh high against its Australian counterpart.
The Kiwi was trading at 94.72 Australian cents at 10am on Friday. The currency had reached an an eight-year high of 94.52 Australian cents on Thursday - up nearly 1c from just before figures were released showing that Australian jobs unexpectedly fell in December last year.
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The dollar has risen sharply since it stood at 72.4 Australian cents in early March 2011, a 31% increase.
The rising dollar is bad news for manufacturers, with Australia being their biggest export market, though it makes it cheaper to holiday across the Tasman.
Economists say the appreciation reflects the contrasting fortunes of both economies, with New Zealand expanding, while activity has slowed across the Tasman.
But many doubt the dollar will reach parity with the Aussie because expectations of strong growth and higher interest rates in New Zealand have already being factored in by currency investors.
ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie told Radio New Zealand's Summer Report programme he cannot rule out the New Zealand dollar reaching the same level as the Australian. But he said that would depend on factors that aren't clear yet, and a catalyst could be a something like a drop in the Australian economy.
"The information which the currency market's already aware of is the fact that the RBNZ is going to lift the Official Cash Rate, the RBA is not; soft commodity prices are through the stratosphere, hard commodity prices are under a little bit of pressure; the New Zealand economy is stronger, Australia's weaker.
"There's no new information there ... we've got to look for the surprise that could eventuate over 2014."
