NZD/USD extending passed 0.73 handle despite Japan political tensions

• Kiwi higher in Asia to kick off the new week, but little macro data for the NZD this week.
• Japanese cronyism headlines are weakening risk assets, but Kiwi remaining resilient.

The Kiwi is on the upside in the early Monday session, testing up into 0.7320 in the Tokyo markets.

The NZD/USD has been climbing steadily in March, following commodities higher in the face of the ongoing trade war risks spurred on by Donald Trump's steel and aluminum import tariffs. Little data is slated for the Kiwi for the first half of the week, but the Business PMI on Thursday may give Kiwi bulls something to think about, depending on how the US Monthly Budget Statement goes over today at 18:00 GMT.

The top is getting taken off of risk assets in the Asia session as the Japanese political drama continues to unfold. Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, may have sold government land at a steep discount to a school operator with ties to Abe's wife, and allegations that Finance Minister Aso forged documents related to the sale of the land are beginning to fly along the wires. The Kiwi is continuing to prop itself up in Tokyo trading, but the revelations about cronyism within the Japanese government come at a bad time.

NZD/USD Technicals

The pair is pricing in a double-bottom off of the 0.7200 handle, but H4 charts show the pair struggling to make cleaner highs amid strong bouts of selling. Current resistance levels can be found at swing highs in February at 0.7350 and 0.7435, with resistance from Friday's low at 0.7243 and the pattern support from 0.7200.