The New Zealand dollar rose in Asian trade on Tuesday against a basket of major rivals, heading for the fifth straight profit in a row against the US dollar and scaling November 2024 highs as the risk appetite improves worldwide.

US President Donald Trump exempted cell phones, computers, chips, and other electronics from his reciprocal tariffs, removing the pressure on tech companies. 

The gains are also boosted by the reducing odds of a RBNZ rate cut in May as the New Zealand central bank prefers to take more time to analyze local and international developments.

The Price

The NZD/USD price rose 0.75% today to $0.5915, the highest since November 2024, with a session-low at $0.5861.

The pair closed up 0.9% on Monday, the fourth profit in a row, and the longest such streak of gains since early March following strong Chinese exports data.

Positive Sentiment 

Financial markets opened the week with a positive stance after Trump’s new tariff exemptions for a variety of tech products.

It comes after he suspended his reciprocal tariffs on most countries for 90 days to give time for negotiations.

New Zealand Rates

The odds of a New Zealand 0.25% interest rate cut in May tumbled from 90% to 60%, with investors now waiting for inflation data later this week to gather more clues.

Oil prices rose on Monday after positive Chinese data showed increasing demand last month.

Official data showed China’s crude oil imports rose 5% last month y/y to 51.41 million tons, equivalent to 12.1 million bpd, the highest since August 2023.

In comparison, China imported 10.38 million bpd on average in the first two months of the year, with the increase in imports last month boosted by Iranian, Russian imports.

OPEC reduced its outlook for global oil demand growth this year to 1.3 million bpd from 1.45 million bpd, and next year to 1.28 million bpd from 1.43 million bpd.

On trading, Brent June futures rose 0.2%, or 12 cents to $64.88 a barrel.

US crude futures due in May added 3 cents to $61.53 a barrel.

Most cryptocurrencies rose on Monday as the risk appetite improved in the markets following new remarks by US President Donald Trump.

Concerns about the trade war receded after Trump exempted some tech imports from reciprocal tariffs.

In yet another escalation to the devastating US-China trade war, Beijing raised tariffs on all US goods from 84% to 125%.

It’s in response to US President Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs on US goods, which were confirmed yesterday.

The latest escalation comes after a long series of reciprocal measures between both sides starting January 2018, when the US imposed tariffs on Chinese goods and accused China of unfair trade practices. 

China asserted it will “fight till the end” and warned Trump that any escalation will be faced with similar responses.

China said it won’t respond to any more tariff hikes from the US as it would be meaningless after this point, with American products already losing their viability in the Chinese market.

The corporate earnings season officially started for the first quarter of the year, starting with banking results.

Ethereum

On trading, ethereum rose 1.9% on Coinmarketcap as of 20:12 GMT to $1635.

US stock indices rose on Monday as concerns about the trade war receded after President Donald Trump exempted some tech imports from reciprocal tariffs.

The corporate earnings season officially started for the first quarter of the year, starting with banking results.

On trading, Dow Jones rose 1.3% as of 14:51 GMT, or 534 points to 40,749 points, while S&P 500 rallied 1.7%, or 90 points to 5454 points, as NASDAQ gave up 1.9%, or 322 points to 17,046 points.