WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--The New Zealand dollar was lower late Tuesday after losing ground on a broadly stronger U.S. dollar overnight, but it pared losses after news that Ireland will pass its budget later in the day boosted the euro, a barometer of appetite for riskier assets such as the local currency. Irish independent lawmaker Michael Lowry said he will vote to support the government's 2011 budget, and political commentators expect the coalition government to clinch the remaining vote needed to pass the budget. "There had been some fear that with the Prime Minister in Ireland only holding a slim majority, the vote might end up in a vote of no-confidence and a dissolution of parliament," RBC Capital Markets currency strategist Sue Trinh said, adding that the news spurred a relief rally in the euro that buoyed the Kiwi. She said the Irish budget would likely be the focus overnight along with a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels. However, the New Zealand dollar remained weaker compared with Monday after slipping overnight as the U.S. dollar strengthened. Bank of New Zealand currency strategist Mike Jones said analysts and markets had focused on how the European Central Bank and the politicians in the region handled the sovereign debt crisis within their borders, sparking a move into safe-haven currencies. New Zealand government bonds ended higher across the board as the yield curve continued to steepened due to ongoing interest in shorter-end bonds, a local bond trader said. He added two-year interest rate swaps had closed up a touch after interest into the close but for most of the day rates had been lower as the market anticipated a downbeat monetary policy statement from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Thursday.

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