The New Zealand dollar gained with Asian equity markets as last week's volatility subsided and after upbeat domestic consumer spending data.
The kiwi rose to US72.68c at 5pm from US72.42c at 8am and US72.44c in New York on Friday. The trade-weighted index was at 74.72 from 74.57.
Asian markets saw some semblance of calm after US stockmarkets rebounded late Friday, with the Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, known as Wall Street's 'fear gauge', falling to 29 from as high as 41.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up around 0.7 per cent in afternoon trading and China's Shanghai SE Composite Index was up 0.8 per cent.
"Markets have started the week on a more positive note and the kiwi - at the margin - is benefiting from that sentiment," said ANZ Bank New Zealand senior economist Phil Borkin.