The New Zealand dollar has fallen against the yen, which was broadly stronger as US President Donald Trump's announcement of $US60 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods stoked concerns about a trade war.
The kiwi fell to 76.25 yen as at 8.30am today in Wellington from 76.45 yen late Thursday. It dropped as low as 75.95 yen overnight - near its lowest since April last year.
The kiwi traded at US72.22 cents from 72.35c. The trade-weighted index rose to 74.32 from 74.24.
Trump revealed the first steps in sanctions against China, signing a directive that indicates the US deems China's trade stance puts an unreasonable burden on US commerce. At a media conference he said he saw the action as "reciprocal" - "if they charge us, we charge them the same thing".
China has said it will respond and may refer the US moves to the WTO, a forum Trump may also appeal to.
"The JPY strengthened on trade concerns between the US and China leaving this cross near recent lows," said ANZ senior economist Miles Workman.
Against the greenback, the kiwi managed to hold on to gains overnight despite increasing trade concerns between the US and China, which could be bad for global trade, growth and commodity prices, he said.
This morning, the New Zealand dollar rose to 51.18 British pence from 51.08p, traded at 58.69 euro cents from 58.51c and rose to 4.5716 yuan from 4.5460 yuan.
It rose to 93.67 Australian cents from A93.40c, extending its gains after figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed 17,500 net new jobs were added in February versus forecasts for 20,000.
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