The NZDUSD opens 1.1% higher than yesterday at 0.6730.
The US Federal Reserve Meeting Minutes for the June 17 meeting were released this morning.
The market reaction was muted as the Committee reaffirmed its view that the Fed Funds rate remains appropriate. Its objectives remain the same – maximum employment and 2% inflation.
Consumer credit in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of May.
Consumer credit rose by $16.1 billion in May following an upwardly revised $21.4 billion jump in April. Economists had expected consumer credit to climb by $18.5 billion compared to the $20.5 billion increase originally reported for the previous month.
A sell-off on Wall Street comes as Chinese stocks extended their recent steep decline, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plummeting 5.9% to a four-month low despite a series of market-stabilizing measures by authorities.
Almost half of China's roughly 2,800 listed firms announced trading halts as increasing signs of deleveraging drove down stocks across the board. There were fears that a prolonged slump would cause systematic risk for the country's financial system.
Traders are also keeping an eye on the latest developments regarding the Greek debt crisis after European leaders set Sunday as the final deadline for Greece to reach an agreement on a new bailout.
Greece put in a request for a three year bailout program today. Athens will offer some austerity measures to be implemented next week in return for financing.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said Wednesday that the government will run a surplus in 2019-20. Economic growth is expected to be 2.4% this year, down from 2.5 % estimated in March. "That is faster than America, faster than Germany and twice as fast as France," Osborne said.
Japan posted a current account surplus of 1.880 trillion yen in May, surging 266.7% on year. The headline figure topped expectations for a surplus of 1.570 trillion yen following the 1.326 trillion yen surplus in April.
NZDUSD 0.6730 +1.1%
NZDEUR 0.6080 +0.7%
NZDGBP 0.4380 +1.9%
NZDJPY 81.10 -0.6%
NZDAUD 0.9060 +1.5%
NZDCAD 0.8570 +1.4%
A computer glitch saw the NYSE temporarily suspend trading for 3 and a half hours. It was back up and running at 5.30am AEST.
US & Asian equity markets were down overnight while UK & European equity markets were up. Dow -1.30%, S&P 500 -1.35%, FTSE +0.91%, DAX +0.66%, CAC +0.75%, Nikkei -3.14%, Shanghai -5.90%, Hang Seng -5.77%.
The Gold price is up at $1161.3539 an ounce, Oil (WTI) is down to $51.66 a barrel.
To subscribe to our free daily Currency Rate Sheet and News email, enter your email address here.
Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment.
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.