The NZDUSD opens at 0.6495 (mid-rate) this morning.
Considering the volatility we have seen since Monday the past 24hrs have be relatively calm with the NZD making small gains against all its major competitors.
Once again today, all eyes will be on China where yesterday we saw the People's Bank of China reduce interest rates by 0.25% as well as reducing their Reserve Requirement Ratios by 0.5% in an effort to shore up its flagging equity market, which continues to fall closing down another 7% from yesterday’s open.
Last night’s U.S. economic data releases produced strong readings with both new home sales and consumer confidence rebounding strongly from their previous releases.
New home sales jumped to an annual rate of 507k in July, 5.4 percent above the revised June rate of 481k, while the consumer confidence index jumped to 101.5 in August from 91.0 in July (exp 94.0).
Last night’s highlight for the Euro-zone came in the form of the German business confidence release which climbed to a three-month high of 108.3 in August from 108 in July, it was expected to fall to 107.6.
Global equity markets are mixed - Dow -1.3%, S&P 500 +1.49%, FTSE +3.09%, DAX +4.97%, CAC -1.43%, Nikkei -3.96%, Shanghai -7.63%.
Gold prices have fallen $16 to $1138 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil rebounded 3% overnight trading at $39.35 a barrel.
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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