Kiwi hits 10-month high vs Aussie

The NZ dollar rose above 94 Australian cents for the first time since January, trading 94.01 cents at 3pm in Wellington from 93.56 cents on Friday, and was also stronger against the greenback, rising to 64.01 US cents from 63.58 cents last week.

The trade-weighted index was at 73.54 up from 73.25 at the end of last week.

OFX traders said in a note the kiwi was the standout performer last week, continuing a stellar run, as New Zealand's interest rate track was poised to top out higher than its Australian counterpart. The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to raise the target cash rate a quarter point to 3.1% tomorrow, still below NZ's 4.25% benchmark rate.

Meanwhile, NZ's stock market joined a rally across Asia on renewed optimism that China will start loosening its covid-19 restrictions.