The kiwi dollar rose to 63.39 euro cents overnight. Photo / File
The New Zealand dollar gained after exports to China, the country's second-biggest trading partner, rose at the fastest pace in three months in September, easing concerns that the global economy is heading for another worldwide slowdown.
The New Zealand dollar rose as high as 81.88 US cents and traded at
81.75 cents just after 8am, up from 81.60 cents at the close of trading in New York on Friday. The kiwi rose to 64.12 yen from 64.02 yen last week, and the trade weighted index increased to 72.96 from 72.83.
Overseas shipments to China, the world's second largest economy, increased 9.9 per cent compared to a year earlier, according to official figures. That's more than the 5.5 per cent predicted in a Bloomberg survey.
Imports increased 2.7 per cent, creating a US$27.7 billion trade surplus, the biggest since June. The upbeat Chinese trade figures underpinned investor optimism, and helped push up risk-sensitive assets, such as the kiwi dollar.
"Markets were cautious about the Chinese trade data and that data was better than expected," said Stuart Ive, currency strategist at HiFX. "That's why the New Zealand dollar is higher this morning."
