The NZDUSD opens sharply higher at 0.8625 this morning.
Global risk appetite rose, boosting equity markets and the NZD, after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would not seize any regions outside Crimea. A Ukrainian serviceman was killed after his base came under attack; highlighting the fact the crisis remains volatile.
The EUR gained, and GBP fell, after British telecoms group Vodafone announced a EUR 7.2 billion acquisition of Spanish broadband and pay - TV company Ono.
Fonterra's global dairy trade price index fell by 5.2% at last nights auction. The NZD pulled back from session high of 0.8635 but remains resilient.
NZ Current account numbers will be released at 10:45am, followed by quarterly GDP figures tomorrow and an expected USD$10 billion reduction in US bond-purchases.
Global equity markets were generally higher on the day - Dow +0.7%, Nikkei +0.9%, Shanghai -0.2%, FTSE +0.6%, DAX +0.7%
Gold prices fell to USD$1358. Oil prices gained 1.6%.
The current indicative rates are:
NZDUSD 0.8625
NZDEUR 0.6190
NZDGBP 0.5200
NZDJPY 87.55
NZDAUD 0.9455
NZDCAD 0.9615
NZ Current Account figures will hit the tapes at 10:45am today.
The US Federal Reserve interest rate decision and accompanying statement will be released at 7:00am Thursday morning - the Fed is expected to announce a further USD$10 billion reduction in its bond purchasing program.
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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