The New Zealand dollar made further gains overnight benefiting from a weaker US dollar as markets remained disappointed with the lack of detail from US president-elect Donald Trump's press conference.
The kiwi rose as high as 71.43 US cents and was trading at 71.19 US cents at 8 am in Wellington from 70.77 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 78.25 from 77.90.
"This is the unwind of the Trump trade as the market was clearly very disappointed in Trump's inability to enlighten markets about his economic policy and it raised questions about how things are going to pan out when he gets in office," said Stuart Ive, senior dealer foreign exchange at OMF in Wellington in a note.
The US dollar had gained strongly since Trump was victorious in the November election, heightening expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates more aggressively throughout 2017.
Ive said if the Kiwi manages to hold its current level through the New York close there is potential for further gains in the value of the local currency.
