The NZDUSD opens higher at 0.8575 this morning.
US Consumer Confidence surged to a 6-year high and US House Price data showed a solid increase in January, although New Home Sales figures disappointed slightly. The USD firmed in response.
European Central Bank policymakers signaled they has not ruled out more monetary easing, that negative interest rates were a possibility, and they were preparing non-standard measures to avoid deflation - the ECB President Draghi subsequently downplayed these deflation fears. The EURUSD fell before bouncing straight back.
The NZDUSD touched a 6-day high of 0.8585 overnight, and the NZD was firmer against other pairs with the exception of the NZDAUD which traded down near 3 week lows of 0.9330.
Global equity markets were mostly higher on the day - Dow +0.6%, Nikkei -0.4%, Shanghai -0.1%, FTSE +1.3%, DAX +1.6%
Gold prices initially fell to a 5-week low after the US consumer confidence release, before bouncing 0.3% to USD$1311. Oil prices increased 0.1%.
The current indicative mid-rates are:
NZDUSD 0.8575
NZDEUR 0.6200
NZDGBP 0.5185
NZDJPY 87.70
NZDAUD 0.9355
NZDCAD 0.9575
There is no data on the domestic calendar today.
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor gives a speech early this evening, and US Core Durable Goods numbers hits the tapes overnight.
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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