The high performer Australian dollar should hang on to parity in the coming months on speculation domestic rates, already among the highest in the developed world, may head even higher, a poll showed on Wednesday.
A Reuters poll of around 47 analysts showed the Australian dollar is seen staying strong at $1.0000 in the next three months, before pulling back a little to $0.9980 on a 12-month horizon.
It last traded at $1.0150, having gained 5 percent since December. It has so far shown remarkable resilience to turmoil in the Middle East, which has sparked some risk aversion. The Australian dollar tore to a two-month high of A$1.0203 this week with the market now seeing the RBA hiking rates by a total of 28 basis points in the next 12 months.
The New Zealand dollar had also been expected to hold firm in coming months. The survey of around 44 analysts showed the commodity-sensitive currency had been forecast to stay around $0.7500 in the next three months, before gently pulling back to $0.7420 over 12 months.
But the poll was taken before it became clear a devastating earthquake in New Zealand's second-biggest city of Christchurch could force the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to reverse course and cut interest rates.