NZ Dollar Falls Amid Risk Aversion

The New Zealand dollar dropped against its major counterparts in early European deals on Friday amid risk aversion, as U.S. President Donald Trump indicated he has instructed his trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs on China, renewing trade tensions.

Trump said the measures were being implemented "in light of China's unfair retaliation" against U.S. tariff announcement in this week.

Investors looked ahead to the release of U.S. jobs report later in the day for clues on whether the Federal Reserve might need to accelerate the pace of interest-rate hikes.

U.S. employment is expected to increase by 198,000 jobs in March after spiking by 313,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 4.0 percent from 4.1 percent.

The kiwi has been trading lower against its major counterparts in the Asian session.

The kiwi slipped to a 3-day low of 1.0609 versus the aussie, off its early high of 1.0539. On the downside, 1.08 is seen as the next support level for the kiwi.

The kiwi declined to a 2-day low of 1.6895 against the euro, after having advanced to 1.6815 at 5:00 pm ET. The kiwi is seen finding support around the 1.72 region.

Data from Destatis showed that Germany's industrial production declined unexpectedly in February.

Industrial output dropped 1.6 percent month-on-month in February, in contrast to a revised 0.1 percent rise seen in January. Output was expected to climb 0.3 percent.

The kiwi reversed from an early high of 0.7278 against the greenback, dropping to a 3-day low of 0.7245. If the kiwi falls further, 0.70 is seen as its next support level.

The kiwi dropped back to 77.78 against the yen, edging closer to a 2-day low of 77.68 set in the Asian session. The kiwi is likely to find support around the 74.00 region.

Preliminary figures from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's leading index improved unexpectedly in February, though slightly.

The leading index, which measures the future economic activity, rose to 105.6 in February from 105.6 in January. Meanwhile, economists had expected the index to fall to 105.5.

Looking ahead, U.S. and Canadian jobs data for March, U.S. consumer credit for February and Canada Ivey PMI for March are set for release in the New York session.