The New Zealand dollar gained after the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating more emails as part of a probe into Hillary Clinton's use of private email system, potentially denting her US presidential race.
The kiwi traded at 71.46 US cents as at 8am in Wellington after reaching as high as 71.67 cents in late New York trading and from 71.36 cents in Asia at the end of last week. The trade-weighted index edged up to 77.14 from 77.07.
US stocks fell and the greenback declined against most major currencies after FBI director James Comey said in a letter to US lawmakers that the agency was looking into whether the additional emails contained classified information. The email issue has dogged Clinton's campaign and the new twist stoked speculation she may not be a certainty to win as the market has been expecting, with Donald Trump seen as providing certainty.
"This was seen to increase the chance of a Trump victory, the risk of some chaotic market conditions post-election and therefore a slightly reduced the chance of the Fed tightening ahead," said Jason Wong, currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand.
The US election is on November 8. Ahead of that, the Federal Open Market Committee holds its two-day meeting this week, with no change expected in interest rates until December. Figures on Friday showed US gross domestic product rose at a 2.9 per cent annual rate in the third quarter, following a 1.4 per cent pace in the second quarter, beating estimates, but analysts said the underlying picture of the world's biggest economy was weaker than the headline number implied.
