24 Jul 2009

Less focus on US - NZ dollar rate urged

8:35 am on 24 July 2009

One currency expert says there should be less focus on the New Zealand dollar's worth against its US counterpart.

In recent weeks, the New Zealand dollar has risen aginst the greenback - at once stage reaching its highest level in nearly 10 months on Thursday.

The kiwi broke the 66 cent barrier after its offshore trading session and was at 65.55 US cents at 8.10am on Friday.

While the dollar also rose against other major currencies, Derek Rankin from Rankin Treasury Advisory, says the dollar's performance is almost entirely due to weakness in its US counterpart.

He says exporters in particular should recognise the currency's value against other trading partners and the focus should shift from the US dollar to the NZ dollar rate against the Australian dollar or the euro.

Mr Rankin says he expects to see the kiwi reach 70 US cents later this year.

Also at 8.10am on Friday, the dollar was trading at 80.55 Australian cents, 39.73 pence, 62.24 yen and 0.4623 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 61.42.