NZ Dollar Climbs Amid Risk Appetite As Geopolitical Tensions Ease

The New Zealand dollar advanced against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, as sentiment improved amid easing geopolitical tensions after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had offered to halt nuclear and missile tests and expressed his desire to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump through South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong.

After talks with Trump at the White House, South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong passed message that the North Korean leader was "committed to denuclearisation" and had "expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible."

Trade-war tensions also eased somewhat after the Trump administration suggested that countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Australia could be exempt from the tariffs if they can agree on alternate means to resolve trade inequities.

Data from Statistics New Zealand showed that New Zealand credit card spending gained a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on month in February.

That follows the 0.6 percent increase in January.

The kiwi rose to 0.7283 against the greenback, from an early low of 0.7249. The kiwi is seen finding resistance around the 0.74 region.

The kiwi climbed to 77.73 against the yen, a level unseen so far this month. On the upside, 79.00 is seen as the next resistance level for the kiwi.

The Bank of Japan kept its monetary stimulus unchanged, as widely expected.

Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and his board members decided by an 8-1 majority vote to hold its target of raising the amount of outstanding JGB holdings at an annual pace of about JPY 80 trillion.

The kiwi hit a 2-day high of 1.0705 against the aussie, after having fallen to 1.0735 at 7:00 pm ET. If the kiwi rises further, 1.06 is likely seen as its next resistance level.

The kiwi that closed yesterday's trading at 1.6953 against the euro advanced to a weekly high of 1.6911. The kiwi is poised to find resistance around the 1.68 level.

Looking ahead, U.K. trade data, industrial production and construction output for January are scheduled for release in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. and Canadian jobs data for February and U.S. final wholesale inventories for January are set for release.