Brian Easton says there is a strong case to be made that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is the government agency that has contributed the most to New Zealand’s economic growth

China car exports flood global markets; helium access a new chokepoint; Japan PPI high & rising; eyes on yen; US data languid; freight rates rise again; UST 10yr at 4.56%; gold rises; oil holds on Strait closure; NZ$1 = 57.6 USc; TWI-5 = 61.5

Here are the key changes to know about in the New Zealand equity market; NZX50 slips as NZX, Skellerup, Spark and Kiwi Property gain; SkyCity casino, a2 Milk, Vulcan Steel, and Vista are the main decliners

Roger J Kerr says the prolonged period of NZ dollar weakness has given a major boost to our export sector with substantially higher export commodity prices. "We will now see NZD appreciation in its own right, returning all the currency cross-rates higher"