NZD at 0.70 USD levels and has risen to around the 0.92 AUD level, expected to drift downwards against USD and upwards against AUD; Despite Trump administration's difficulties in enacting policy, the US economy continues to grow at a slow and steady rate

NZD/USD

The New Zealand dollar continues to range trade against the USD albeit with a weaker tone. Upside resistance at 0.7080 unlikely to be threatened this week, especially ahead of what are expected to be solid US jobs data. We favour a drift to test support at 0.6975. A break of which would target 0.6950 and below.

NZD/AUD (AUD/NZD)

Currently at 0.9230 after lows around 0.9110 last week. Given the weaker tone to the Australian economy we expect this cross to perform in the New Zealand dollars favour in the short term. Today’s RBA statement has potential to see this cross run to a test of last week’s highs around the 0.9260 level.

NZD/GBP (GBP/NZD)

The New Zealand dollar is currently at 0.5612 on overnight UK Pound weakness, but still within the 0.5713-0.5575 range seen over the last 2 weeks. The weaker overnight GBP/USD is the driver rather than NZD strength alone. Look for consolidation within the current range to continue this week.

 NZD/CAD

The New Zealand dollar is higher at 0.9380, coming from a low of 0.9298 on Friday. Resistance at 0.9430 looks fragile given the weaker CAD overnight, a break of this level would target 0.9460.

NZD/EURO (EURO/NZD)

The New Zealand dollar is currently at 0.6566 Euro and continues to gain ground. Is still confined below the 0.6580 level, but expect a break over this level may eventuate should tonight's NZGlobal dairy auction results be encouraging. Ongoing political uncertainty continues to sap any EUR strength.

NZD/YEN

Sitting around 77.57 after a high of 78.13 on Friday, mainly due to last night's the risk-off tone. Next stop is 77.00 with immediate minor support at 77.30, lack of any strong NZ data will make an New Zealand dollar recovery back over 78.00 Yen difficult in the short term.

AUD/USD

The Australian dollar is currently at 0.7603 USD testing support at 0.7600 as the market awaits the RBA statement, a break of this level would target 0.7550 then 0.7490. The downside is favoured.

AUD/GBP (GBP/AUD) 

Trading sideways , but the Australian dollar has weakened over the last 4 days coming off a high of 0.6154 to its current level at 0.6089. Given the weaker fundamentals look for more AUD declines.

AUD/EURO (EURO/AUD)

Currently sitting around 0.7130, drifting lower from the 0.7174 seen on Friday no large moves expected on this cross ahead of the US jobs data. Euro fundamentals are favoured over those of Australian dollar , but as always political considerations continue to hamper the EUR.

AUD/YEN

Choppy trading, now at 84.10 after an 85.75 high on Friday as market sentiment has become more risk adverse thereby boosting JPY value. Immediate support at 83.91 should be tested over the next 12 hours, especially if the RBA disappoints.

AUD/CAD

Now around 1.0175 up from a 1.0122 3 week low seen yesterday , we favour the CAD on this cross a as fundamentals are more solid , however it comes down to which currency is struggling less against the USD...for now, our pick is CAD .

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Market commentary:

A slight risk-off tone has pervaded the markets, with gold and the JPY higher, equities lower overnight, given that economic data has been relatively solid, it would appear geopolitical concerns are more to the fore currently. Ffor example, the difficulties the US administration is having in getting fiscal promises enacted and the many questions that linger over the European political situation.  Although the Tax and infrastructure plans for the Trump administration have run into trouble, the USD has staged a recovery based on continued economic statistics which show a continued slow and steady recovery for the US economy. Given the ructions the Trump administration is experiencing, it now looks as if it will be many months (our read is Q3) before the widely anticipated tax cuts and increased infrastructure spending come into effect to further galvanise the economy. However this timeframe does not preclude the Fed from continuing to hike rates at its already well advertised timetable and as long as economic indicators remain solid, with ADP jobs data on Wednesday, a precursor to the Non-farm payroll on Friday just how on-track the US recovery remains will be clearer.  In Europe, attention is still mainly centred on the twists and turns of French politics and the extrication of the UK from the Eurozone as the reality of Brexit sinks in. Economic fundamentals continue to improve for the Euro bloc albeit at a slower pace than expected, but allied with core inflation still below the 2% ECB target any rate increase is unlikely to come this year. Also of note at the end of this week is the meeting between the US president Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping which is expected to be contentious given the rhetoric from the US President on trade. Any press releases on the outcome will come over the weekend, so markets this week should remain largely unaffected.

Australia

Today will see the RBA rate decision later this afternoon.  No change is widely expected to the current 1.5% rate, but expect comments around concern over the household income, debt levels and labour market conditions. Concerns around the build up of risks associated with the housing market effectively rule out any further rate cuts. The RBA is also likely to be keeping a wary eye out on iron ore prices, as although iron ore exports to China are likely to have continued unabated in March, it now looks  increasingly likely that the first quarter of 2017 may prove to be as good as it gets this year. With spot iron ore prices slipping below US$80/tonne overnight, 15% down from the February peak, it looks like a market that has realised it got a little ahead of itself. The spot price is now virtually flat from the $US 78.87 at the end of last year, showing that the rally from December 2015 to February, which resulted in prices more than doubling, is starting to unwind. Much of the focus on why the price gains were unsustainable has been on the rapid build up of iron ore stocks at Chinese ports. The AUD is currently at 0.7505 against the USD after dropping from 0.7750 2 weeks ago. Weakening economic data is continuing to pressure the AUD and the latest weaker retail sales add to the story that the Aussie economy is currently more about deterioration than improvement. If the RBA is downbeat the AUD could extend into the  0.7550 region.

New Zealand

The New Zealand dollar is still trading within a narrow range based on weaker commodity prices over the past fortnight. Closing the week around the 0.70 the figure it dipped briefly to 0.6985 before reversing to 0.7020 the high Monday. Later in the week we have Dairy Auctions and US Payrolls, currently the NZD looks for direction and could be tested to the downside based on current venerability. Short term resistance is 0.7100 with support at 0.6890

United States

US equity markets opened the new quarter lower as the auto sector was sold off after reports of lower sales. The USD held steady as investors await a raft of data later this week, kicking off with a solid result for the ISM manufacturing PMI last night, that will  give further pointers to the health of the US economic recovery. Expectations are for the US ADP figures, Wednesday and Non-farm payroll data on Friday to come in toward the high side.  The stunning surge in consumer confidence last week and healthy regional PMIs together with the expected strong payrolls data will be welcomed by Fed officials as they talk up the case for more rate hikes. Markets are now pricing in a 60% chance of a June rate hike. However there are some threats on the horizon, as markets are likely to switch their focus to debt ceiling/govt shutdown risks in mid-to-late April, jeopardising continued USD strength. The US/China meeting starting on Thursday between the two Presidents is not expected to initially be market moving, but the press release will be watched closely for comments around trade and geopolitics which have the ability to affect longer term trends. Overall we expect the USD trend to remain positive as economic data remains supportive and firming inflation, in excess of its trading partners, keeps Fed rate hikes on the front burner.                                                                    
 

Europe

Main market drivers continue to be around political developments, with the latest opinion polls more consistently showing that right wing, anti-EU Marine Le Pen is unlikely to win the presidential election in France, however there still remains a large percentage of “undecided” voters. Data releases were generally positive with seasonally adjusted unemployment rate falling to 9.5% in February from 9.6% in January,  the lowest since May 2009, The final Markit manufacturing PMIs for March, confirmed the region grew at its fastest pace in nearly six years as the final revision of the index matched the preliminary estimate of 56.2. However on a negative note, the EU PPI for February came in flat, after advancing 1.1% in February, while the year-on-year price index grew by 4.5%, above estimates of 4.4. US data releases over the week will drive this currency pair, but the EUR needs to surpass the 1.0710 region to be able to recover further, whilst below 1.0620 the bearish momentum will likely accelerate with a target of 1.0565. Support is now at 1.0620, with resistance at 1.0710.

United Kingdom

Brexit continues to overshadow most other issues although UK economic data continues to show modest strength. UK manufacturers are set to make a “solid” contribution to growth in the first quarter, even signs emerged that cost pressures were starting to weigh on activity, according to the latest IHS markit survey. Future outlook among manufacturers also remained “positive”, which encourages firms to take on more staff. Employment was higher for the eighth month running, with the rate of growth rising at the fastest pace in almost 18 months. The UK economy grew by 0.7% in the first 3 months of the year, exceeding most economists’ expectations of growth to slow to around 0.5% for the period. Similar surveys of the construction and dominant services sectors for March, released later this week are also expected to show robust growth. However the GBP has drifted lower to currently sit around the 1.2490 level under support at 1.2500. A move above 1.2540 would target 1.2590 unlikely this week. A break below 1.2480 would signal a move towards 1.2430/40. It’s hard to see major moves on the GBP ahead of the US jobs data Friday.

Japan

The Japanese yen continued its run lower on the weekly open down to 110.50 early Tuesday. The JPY slowly picking up pace against the US Dollar as the general risk averse mood spreads through markets. 110.13 the last week’s low may be tested this week, if key support is broken we can expect to see a larger pullback and a possible freefall to 105.00 in the medium term. Running up to the US Payroll numbers at the end of the week investor appetite will stay mellow as caution remains.

Canada

The Canadian Dollar expanded by 0.6% in January beating the forecast of 0.3% Friday, this is the highest GDP figure since August 2016. The CAD opened the week on the back foot across the board and remains above 1.3300 against the US Dollar with oil prices having a negative impact on the economy. Later this week we see Canadian Employment change which is expected to be positive and boost sentiment running into US Non-Farm Payroll figures. This week we may see a run up to the post high mark of 1.3500 with volatility on the table.

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