A survey has found slightly fewer exporters are planning to hedge, as they wait for the New Zealand dollar to weaken.
The ASB Kiwi Dollar Barometer found 58.6 percent of exporters intend hedging to protect the value of their returns, compared with 61.6 percent in the previous three months.
The survey was conducted over April and May when the kiwi was declining.
ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said their views may have changed slightly since then, given the currency's sharp gains since the Reserve Bank lifted interest rates and signalled more to come.
Mr Tuffley said firms expected the New Zealand dollar to remain fairly high over the next year and thought it was likely to remain around the US85 cent - US86 cent mark for much of this year.
He said interest rate differentials are still seen as the predominant driver of the New Zealand dollar.
Mr Tuffley said fewer exporters seem prepared to hedge at the moment and they look to be waiting for a weaker New Zealand dollar in the future.
But he said importers still seem to want to hedge which means that while the currency is high they can lock in a more advantageous exchange rate for them.
