The New Zealand dollar rose against the greenback, even as US stocks fell, in what may be a run of safe-haven buying that's also lifted the Australian dollar.
The kiwi rose to 83.55 US cents from 82.94 cents at 5pm in Wellington yesterday. The trade-weighted index climbed to 75.19 from 74.82.
Stocks on Wall Street fell ahead of the US earnings season, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 Index down 0.5 per cent, though that wasn't enough to dent the kiwi amid general US dollar weakness. New Zealand's tepid economic growth and record low interest rates are still attractive relative to other economies, with demand from China seen underpinning growth.
"The kiwi has completely disconnected from equity markets," said Tim Kelleher, head of institutional FX sales at ASB Institutional. "All we can put it down to is safe-haven buying."
The kiwi may trade in a range of 83.25 US cents to 83.75 cents today, he said.