New Zealand dollar gains amid reports North Korea will discuss denuclearisation

Risk appetite got a lift from reports North Korea told the US that Kim Jong Un is prepared to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. Picture / AP

The New Zealand dollar rose against the greenback as risk appetite got a lift from reports North Korea told the US that Kim Jong Un is prepared to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

The kiwi traded at US72.93c at 5pm versus US72.68c at 8am. The trade-weighted index rose to 75.04 from 74.75.

"The US has confirmed that Kim Jong Un is willing to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," a Trump Administration official said on Sunday, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

The assurances from North Korea clear the way for a summit meeting between the North Korean leader and US President Donald Trump. While markets remained jittery about a possible global trade war after both China and the US continued to trade threats they are now looking for action.

"The market now wants China and the US to get a bit closer to meeting around the table. The market will probably respond quite well to that," said Martin Rudings, a senior dealer at OMF.

Investors will be keeping an eye out for tomorrow's quarterly survey of business opinion for a gauge on whether confidence is improving after it fell sharply post the September election.

The kiwi dollar rose to 78.07 yen versus 77.64 yen late on Friday in New York, also benefiting from improving risk appetite. It traded at 59.42 euro cents from 59.11 euro cents late Friday.

The kiwi traded at A94.84c from A94.56c in the US on Friday and rose to 4.5939 yuan from 4.5783. The New Zealand dollar traded at 51.74p from 51.52p.

New Zealand's two-year swap rate rose 3 basis points to 2.24 per cent and 10-year swap rate lifted 3 basis point to 3.13 per cent.