The NZDUSD opens at 0.6877 (mid-rate) this morning.
The NZD was the worst performing currency of the majors overnight. The Kiwi has traded a 203 point or 2.9% range this week from the high on Monday, and is down 6.8% from the 2017 high of 0.7376.
Last night the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively.
The Governing Council continues to expect the key ECB interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases.
Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to a four-week high last week, interrupting a run of subdued firings, a Labour Department report showed overnight. Jobless claims increased by 14,000 to 257,000 (forecast was 245,000) in the week ended April 22.
The U.S. Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, declined 0.8% to 111.4 in March from 112.3 in February. Despite last month's decrease, the index is 0.8% above a year ago.
Global equity markets are mixed: Dow +0.05%, S&P 500 +0.06%, FTSE -0.71%, DAX -0.23%, CAC -0.31%, Nikkei -0.19%, Shanghai +0.36%.
Gold prices are down 0.1% currently trading at $1,264 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil is down 1.2% overnight currently trading at $49.16.
Current indicative rates:
NZDUSD 0.6877 -0.3%
NZDEUR 0.6321 0.0%
NZDGBP 0.5329 -0.6%
NZDJPY 76.47 -0.3%
NZDAUD 0.9204 -0.2%
NZDCAD 0.9366 -0.2%
GBPNZD 1.8759 0.6%
Upcoming Data releases (NZST):
- 10:45am - NZD - Building Consents m/m
- 10:45am - NZD -Trade Balance
- 1:00pm - NZD - ANZ Business Confidence
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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