The NZDUSD opens at 0.7044 (mid-rate) this morning.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) after rising to a 14-year-high of 103.87 in early January, on expectations that Trump’s Presidency would boost inflation slipped below 99.0 overnight (its lowest level since November) in reaction to President Trump’s failure to rally enough support to repel Obamacare.
Not surprisingly US equity markets are under pressure over concerns about the Trump Administration's ability to pass tax reforms, and as a result gold prices have rallied, peaking overnight at $1,261 an ounce, a level last reached in November 2016.
Last night German business sentiment for the month of March surged to a 68-month high with the index spiking to 112.3 from an upwardly revised reading of 111.1 in February. Economists had expected the index to fall to 110.8.
In the absence of any local economic data releases investors will look to this morning’s FOMC Gov Robert Kaplan’s speech on monetary policy for further USD direction.
Global equity markets have slipped lower- Dow -0.22%, S&P -0.09%, FTSE -0.59%, DAX -0.57%, CAC -0.07%, Nikkei -1.44%, Shanghai -0.08%.
Gold prices are up 0.8% from yesterday morning trading at $1,254 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil has edged lower currently down 0.2% at $47.72 a barrel.
Current indicative rates:
NZDUSD 0.7044 0.2%
NZDEUR 0.6482 -0.4%
NZDGBP 0.5605 -0.4%
NZDJPY 77.85 -0.2%
NZDAUD 0.9245 0.2%
NZDCAD 0.9424 0.2%
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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