The New Zealand dollar rallied in Asian trade against a basket of major rivals, extending gains for the third straight session against the US dollar and scaling three-week highs after an expected policy decision by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

As expected, the bank maintained interest rates unchanged for the sixth meeting in a row at 15-year highs.

The bank maintained its bullish stance and asserted its commitment to restrictive monetary policies until the medium-term inflation targets are achieved, hurting the odds of interest rate cuts this year.

Prices

The NZD/USD pair rose 0.3% today to 0.6077, the highest since March 21, with a session-high at 0.6045.

The pair ended Tuesday 0.5% higher, the second profit in a row on strong risk appetite.

Best Performing Currency

The kiwi quickly became the best performing major currency today following strong gains against most rivals.

It rose 0.3% against the US dollar, and a 0.3% against the euro, scaling a four-week high at 1.7857, with a 0.25% profit against the pound to a four-week high at 2.0856.

It rose 0.3% against the Swiss Franc to a six-month high at 0.5493, and a 0.3% against the yen to a six-week high at 92.25.

The RBNZ

As expected, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand maintained interest rates unchanged today at 5.5%, already the highest since 2008.

The RBNZ asserted the importance of achieving the inflation target this year before changing interest rates.

It said that consumer prices remain above the 1-3% target, necessitating the need for maintaining restrictive policies for an extended duration.