The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 1.6 per cent quarterly gain against the US dollar after a whippy three months that saw it around 5 per cent higher at one stage as the greenback remained out of favour.
The New Zealand dollar traded at US71.99c as at 5pm versus US72.07c as at 8am in Wellington and 72.69c late Wednesday. It began the quarter around US70.80c.
The kiwi has come under some pressure in Asia after data showed the US economy didn't slow as much as expected in the final three months of 2017, which saw the greenback gain some support.
Easing fears of a global trade war also helped the US dollar.
Over the quarter, however, the kiwi "has outperformed. It's like the Swiss Franc of the South Pacific. You see safe-haven buying of Swiss Francs and then the kiwi looks good," said Tim Kelleher, head of institutional foreign exchange sales at ASB Bank.
The kiwi also remained firm against the Australian dollar, trading at A93.92c from 94.40c late Wednesday and up 3.4 per cent in the quarter.
"The Aussie is much more exposed to China than we are, so people who are hedging Asian risk, they tend to sell the Aussie dollar."
Looking ahead, however, Mr Kelleher said the market is "very delicately poised" heading into the long Easter weekend.
The New Zealand dollar traded at 58.37 euro cents from 58.54c late Wednesday and fell to 4.5289 yuan from 4.5674 yuan. It traded at 76.67 yen from 76.70 yen and was little changed at 51.10 British pence from 51.20 pence.
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