The NZDUSD opens at 0.6945 (mid-rate) this morning.
The NZD along with other commodity linked currencies started the day on the back foot as Crude oil gapped lower (-6%) on the open before reversing the majority of the move by mid afternoon New York time.
The NZDUSD fell to a low of 0.6850 before reversing the fall and breaking higher on the back of better-than-expected inflation data. New Zealand’s Q4 CPI posted a small gain of 0.2% exceeding the expected 0.1% increase and showing a strong improvement from Q3’s -0.5% reading.
Overnight homebuilder confidence in the U.S. for the month of April came in slightly below economist’s estimates. The index came in at 58 unchanged from March and just shy of the estimated 59.
In the absence of any notable data releases during our trading session today, the next driver for the NZD will be tonight’s GDT auction.
Global equity markets have started the week mixed - Dow +0.57%, S&P 500 +0.56%, FTSE +0.15%, DAX +0.68%, CAC +0.26%, Nikkei -3.40%, Shanghai -1.44%.
Gold prices are unchanged at $1233 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil is down 1.7% currently trading at $39.69 a barrel.
Current indicative rates:
NZDUSD 0.6945 1.0%
NZDEUR 0.6142 1.0%
NZDGBP 0.4865 0.6%
NZDJPY 75.55 1.5%
NZDAUD 0.8966 -0.3%
NZDCAD 0.8890 -0.1%
Upcoming Data releases (NZST):
- Overnight Fonterra GDT Auction
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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