The New Zealand dollar touched a month-high after a weaker economic report in the US dented demand for the greenback.
The kiwi touched a high of 83.85 US cents on Friday night, and was trading at 83.77 cents at 8am in Wellington from 83.64 cents at the New York close and 83.39 cents in Wellington Friday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 78.50 from 78.31 on Friday.
The US dollar weakened after a report on Friday showed US manufacturing output unexpectedly dropped during January, recording its biggest decline in more than four years as winter weather disrupted production, raising concern about the impact of harsh weather on the US economy. In New Zealand today, reports on retail sales and services sector activity are expected to show continued strength in the local economy.
"The NZD/USD rose in the face of broad USD weakness through the evening" on Friday, Kymberly Martin, markets strategist at the Bank of New Zealand, said in a note. "Today, the local focus is New Zealand's Q4 retail sales numbers."
BNZ expects retail sales to have expanded 1.6 per cent in the fourth quarter, compared with a gain of just 0.3 per cent in the previous quarter. The report is scheduled for release at 10:45am.
