The NZDUSD opens at 0.7930 (mid-rate) this morning.
The NZDUSD had a relatively quiet end to what was a very volatile week. The accidental release of an earlier RBNZ statement on Friday saw the NZDUSD rate fall sharply before recovering once the error was announced.
The weekend's US data releases came in ahead of market expectations. The Consumer Sentiment Index for October came in at 86.4 vs. 84.0 (a seven-year high) while The Commerce Department figures showed housing starts climbed 6.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.017 million in September vs 1.008 mln expected.
Bank of England Chief Economist Andrew Haldane said the UK interest rates could remain lower at a record low for a longer period than he expected three months ago.
European and US equity markets finished the week sharply higher - Dow +1.63%, Nikkei -1.40%, Shanghai -0.65%, FTSE +1.85%, DAX +3.12%, CAC +2.92%
Gold prices remained steady over the weekend finishing the week up 1.4% at $1,237, Oil prices were also steady on Friday but have now fallen for a fourth consecutive week closing at $82.92 a barrel.
The current indicative mid-rates are:
NZDUSD 0.7930
NZDEUR 0.6210
NZDGBP 0.4920
NZDJPY 84.80
NZDAUD 0.9055
NZDCAD 0.8945
Today NZ has services PMI and consumer confidence data releases
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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