The NZDUSD opens at 0.6973 (mid-rate) this morning.
The Kiwi has traded a 75 point or 1.1% range from yesterday’s open, trading as high as 0.7046 but opens near the low of 0.6971. The NZD is down against all its major competitors.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) set monetary policy to meet the 2% inflation target, to help sustain growth and employment. At its meeting ending on 15 March 2017, the Committee voted by a majority of 8-1 to maintain Bank Rate at 0.25%.
The BoE Committee voted unanimously to continue with corporate bond purchases, totalling up to £10 billion, and maintain the stock of UK government bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, at £435 billion.
Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, underscoring a sturdy job market. Jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 241,000 in the week ended March 11. Employers, who are finding it difficult to lure more skilled and experienced workers at a time of steady sales growth, are reluctant to reduce headcounts.
Results from the March U.S. Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey suggest that regional manufacturing activity continued to expand. The index for current manufacturing activity in the region decreased from a reading of 43.3 in February to 32.8 this month.
G20 meetings start tonight and continue over the weekend. Data releases tonight include U.S. Uni of Mich. Consumer Sentiment, U.S. Industrial Production and EUR Trade Balance.
Global equity markets are higher overnight except North America: Dow -0.04%, S&P -0.14%, FTSE +0.64%, DAX +0.61%, CAC +0.56%, Nikkei +0.07%, Shanghai +0.84%.
The price of Gold is up $14 or 1.2% currently trading at $1,226 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil is up 0.7% currently trading at $48.83 a barrel.
Current indicative rates:
NZDUSD 0.6973 -0.4%
NZDEUR 0.6508 -0.6%
NZDGBP 0.5645 -1.0%
NZDJPY 79.03 -0.7%
NZDAUD 0.9091 -0.3%
NZDCAD 0.9292 -0.9%
Upcoming Data releases (NZST):
- 10:30am - NZD - Business NZ Manufacturing Index
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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