The New Zealand dollar climbed to US83 cents for the first time in nearly six months yesterday, after the Federal Reserve said it would begin a third round of financial stimulus to boost the world's largest economy.
The Australian dollar was trading at $US1.06, up from $US1.04 on Thursday.
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke announced early yesterday the United States central bank would expand its holdings of long-term securities with open-ended purchases of $US40 billion ($NZ48 billion) a month and pledged to keep interest rates at record lows until at least mid-2015. The Fed previously agreed to keep rates low until late 2014.
New Zealand's Reserve Bank kept its official cash rate unchanged at 2.5% on Thursday, giving rise to criticism it was not helping exporters by keeping the kiwi high through its policies.
BNZ currency strategist Mike Jones said the recent moves by corporate New Zealand to prepare for a stronger New Zealand dollar in the longer term looked "entirely appropriate".
He retained his long-held year-end forecast of US82c to the kiwi, but the risks were starting to shift in favour of something stronger.
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman called on the Government to respond to the Fed moves.
"You can't be a pacifist in an international currency war. The Government should be protecting the export sector, rather than ignoring what is going on in the rest of the world."
The Reserve Bank should have lowered the OCR in order to look after the "real economy" and stimulate jobs, he said.
