Graphic: renjith krishnan

The New Zealand dollar reached a 26-year high against the U.S. dollar Monday in the wake of better-than-expected trade figures.

The New Zealand dollar was worth $0.8216 in late morning trading, the highest level since the country abandoned exchange rate controls in March 1985, allowing the currency to trade freely.The previous post-float high was $0.8215.

The breakthrough to the new high was expected as the New Zealand dollar, widely known as the Kiwi, rose last week on speculation of increased Chinese investment in the economy.

It also reflected that the greenback has been under pressure from ongoing doubts about the performance of the U.S. economy.

New Zealand's exports and the trade surplus were at record levels in April, latest data showed Monday. A trade surplus tends to boost a nation's currency since it suggests there will be strong demand for the currency as exporters convert their overseas revenue into local dollars.

Exports were 17 percent higher than a year earlier at a new high of 4.7 billion New Zealand dollars ($3.8 billion), Statistics New Zealand said, while imports rose 7.2 percent to NZ$3.5 billion ($2.9 billion).

The April trade surplus of NZ$1.2 billion was the largest monthly surplus ever recorded and the largest surplus as a percentage of exports in 18 years, the government-funded agency said.

Prime Minister John Key said the New Zealand dollar was trading at high levels against the U.S. currency “because of inherent weakness in the U.S., the size of the deficit in the United States ... and the enormous amount of debt that that economy is producing.”

The New Zealand dollar “is in uncharted territory, so that's of some concern” to the country's exporters, he said. “In the final analysis, this is largely a U.S. dollar story than a New Zealand dollar story.”

The New Zealand dollar fell back to around $0.8188 after Key's comments. - Sapa-AP