NZ dollar gains after Mnuchin says impact of US tax reform will take time

The kiwi rose to 72.27 US cents as at 8am in Wellington from 72.01 cents late yesterday.

The New Zealand dollar rose after new US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated it would take time for fiscal policy reform to impact the US economy, frustrating traders betting on Trump administration stimulus and a stronger greenback.

The kiwi rose to 72.27 US cents as at 8am in Wellington from 72.01 cents late yesterday. The trade-weighted index rose to 78.55 from 78.43.

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The US dollar weakened after minutes of the last Federal Reserve policy meeting were deemed more dovish that the market was expecting with varying opinions about inflation in the world's biggest economy, raising doubts that the Ferd will hike interest rates as soon as next month. Mnuchin told CNBC that he expected the impact of tax cuts showing up in late-2018, in contrast to President Donald Trump's talk of imminent reform.

"As US markets become more frustrated by the lack of detail over Trump's policies, and come to the realisation that anything creative that might occur (if at all) will take some time to bite, expect the USD to be on the back foot," said David Crow, senior rates specialist at ANZ Bank New Zealand, in a note. "We see no obvious reason for the NZD to go meaningfully lower given the growth outlook and the level of interest rates, which make the NZD an expensive currency to 'short'."

With no local economic data scheduled today, traders will be looking across the Tasman for Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe's testimony to a parliamentary committee.

The kiwi traded at 93.68 Australian cents from 93.65 cents late yesterday. It slipped to 57.65 British pence from 57.82 pence and rose to 68.37 euro cents from 68.14 cents. The kiwi was little changed at 81.49 yen from 81.55 yen and rose to 4.9627 yuan from 4.9531 yuan.