The NZDUSD opens at 0.7315 (mid-rate) this morning.
Friday nights focus was on the US non-farm payrolls report. Unemployment rose to 4.8% v’s 4.7% expected which can be put largely down to the increased participation rate coming in at 62.9% vs 62.7% in prior month. The more damaging aspect however was wage growth only growing by 0.1% m/m vs 0.4% the previous month which has ruffled the hopes for a March hike by the Fed.
Overnight the EUR being has been the worst performer coming under pressure from the ongoing political upheaval in France. The current front runner for the French presidential elections. Francois Fillon has been accused of paying his wife and children EUR900k of public money for work they did not do.
Germany's factory orders for December expanded at the fastest pace in over 2 years climbing 5.2% in stark contrast to a 3.6% fall in November.
Key drivers for the NZD today will be this afternoon’s RBNZ inflation expectations report while overnight the latest GDT dairy auction takes center stage. Direction for the NZDAUD should be driven by this afternoon’s RBA monetary policy statement. RBA governor Philip Lowe is widely tipped to leave the OCR unchanged at its current record low of 1.5%.
Global equity markets are mixed- Dow -0.1%, S&P 500 -0.2%, FTSE -0.22%, DAX -1.22%, CAC -0.98%, Nikkei +0.31%, Shanghai +0.54.
Gold prices have edged higher overnight currently up 0.8% at $1,229 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil is currently down 1% at $53.24 a barrel.
Current indicative rates:
NZDUSD 0.7315
NZDEUR 0.6804
NZDGBP 0.5861
NZDJPY 81.78
NZDAUD 0.9555
NZDCAD 0.9583
Upcoming Data releases (NZST):
- 15:00 - Inflation Expectations q/q
- 16:30 - RBA Rate Statement
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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