CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The NZ dollar declined against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Monday, while the Japanese yen firmed, as fresh lockdowns in parts of Europe amid a spike in omicron cases sapped risk appetite.
The Netherlands reimposed a strict lockdown to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
The lockdown has begun from Sunday and non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums and theatres must be closed until January 14. All schools will close until at least January 9.
New Zealand authorities said that the death of a 26-year-old man is related to a side effect from Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.
In a statement, New Zealand's Covid-19 Vaccine Independent Safety Monitoring Board said that the man's death was due to myocarditis, which is a rare side effect of COVID-19 vaccines.
The yen appreciated to a 2-week high of 127.52 against the euro, 1-week high of 122.79 against the franc and a 6-day high of 149.92 against the pound, following its prior lows of 127.82, 123.02 and 150.55, respectively. The next possible resistance for the yen is seen around 126.00 against the euro, 121.00 against the franc and 145.00 against the pound.
The yen rebounded from its early lows of 88.23 against the loonie and 81.10 against the aussie, reaching more than a 2-week high of 87.81 and a 6-day high of 80.50, respectively. The yen is likely to locate resistance around 86.00 against the loonie and 78.00 against the aussie.
The yen edged higher to 113.41 against the greenback, from a low of 113.71 seen at 5:45 pm ET. If the yen rallies again, 110.00 is seen as its next resistance level.
The kiwi was down at a 5-day low of 0.6718 against the greenback and a 2-week low of 76.18 against the yen, pulling back from its early highs of 0.6746 and 76.65, respectively. The kiwi is seen finding support around 0.66 against the greenback and 74.00 against the yen.
The kiwi weakened to 1.6750 against the euro, falling from a 4-day high of 1.6637 hit at 5 pm ET. On the downside, 1.70 is possibly seen as the next support level for the currency.
In contrast, the kiwi held steady against the aussie, after rising to 1.0555 at 5 pm ET. The pair had ended Friday's deals at 1.0567.
Looking ahead, Eurozone current account data for October is due in the European session.
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