The New Zealand dollar strengthened against most major currencies in the Asian session on Monday on risk appetite, as investor sentiment was bolstered by news that FBI has cleared U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton of potential criminal charges in its private email server probe, just two days before the election.
Investors shrugged off the weak cues from Wall Street on Friday amid concerns over the outlook for interest rates and continued weakness in the price of crude oil. The U.S. Labor Department said Friday that the number of jobs added in October was lower than expected, though figures for previous months were revised higher. That keeps a possible rate hike in play for next month.
The crude for December delivery is up 0.49 percent or &44.56 per barrel. The crude oil prices rebounded, as riskier-assets rose on U.S. election-related news that the FBI had cleared Clinton of her emails, noting no criminality.
Additionally, latest reports of an earthquake occurred just 3km away from Cushing, Oklahoma, also increased the demand of oil. In U.S., Cushing, Oklahoma, is the country's largest commercial storage hub.
Last Friday, the NZ dollar showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the NZ dollar rose against the Australian dollar, it held steady against the U.S. dollar, the yen and the euro.
In the Asian trading, the NZ dollar rose to more than a 1-1/2-month high of 0.7347 against the U.S. dollar and nearly a 4-month high of 76.47, from last week's closing quotes of 0.7324 and 75.51, respectively. If the kiwi extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.75 against the greenback and 78.00 against the yen.
Against the euro, the kiwi advanced to a 2-month high of 1.5038 from Friday's closing value of 1.5192. The kiwi may test resistance around the 1.49 area.
Meanwhile, the safe-haven yen fell against its major rivals amid risk appetite.
The yen fell to 1-month lows of 115.89 against the euro and 130.24 against the pound, from Friday's closing quotes of 114.85 and 129.02, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 118.00 against the euro and 134.00 against the pound.
The yen dropped to nearly a 3-1/2-month low of 107.25 against the Swiss franc, from Friday's closing value of 106.43. The yen may test support around the 109.00 area.
Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the yen slipped to 6-day lows of 104.48 and 78.14 from last week's closing quotes of 103.09 and 76.91, respectively. On the downside, 106.00 against the greenback and 80.00 against the loonie are seen as the next support level for the yen.
Against the Australian dollar, the yen slid to a 6-day low of 80.11 from Friday's closing value of 79.09 The yen is likely to find support around the 81.00 area.
Data from the Australian Industry Group showed that the construction sector in Australia swung to contraction in October, with a 20-month low Performance of Construction Index score of 45.9. That's down sharply from 51.4 in September.
Looking ahead, the German factory orders for September is due to be released in the pre-European session at 2:00 pm ET.
Swiss CPI data for October, U.K. Halifax house price index for October, Eurozone Sentix investor confidence index for November and Eurozone retail PMI for September are slated for release, later in the day.
At 4:15 am ET, European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio is expected to speak at the EU Commission's public hearing on the macro-prudential framework, in Brussels.
In the New York session, U.S. labor market conditions index for October and consumer credit for September are set to be published.
At 11:00 am ET, European Central Bank board member Sabine Lautenschlager is expected to speak at the Bundesbank Regional Office Bavaria Banks and Corporate Evening, in Munich.
