The NZD/USD opens at 0.8370 this morning after relatively quiet trading over the Easter period.
The USD weakened across the board after softer-than-expected US manufacturing data, while the JPY strengthened following surprisingly weak Chinese factory numbers and increasing tensions in the Korean Peninsula.
The Cypriot central bank announced that depositors in Cyprus’s largest bank would lose around 60% of all savings in excess of EUR 100,000.
Borrowing costs in Slovenia, which is seen as the next bailout candidate, surged higher.
Gold prices trade at USD$1599, while Copper prices fell to 9-moth lows.
World equity markets were mixed. The US NASDAQ index fell 1.1%, while the Japanese Nikkei index plunged 2.1%.
The NZD opens at 0.8370 USD, 0.8030 AUD, 0.6515 EUR, 0.5495 GBP, & 78.10 JPY.
ANZ Commodity Price will be released today at 10:45am, followed by the Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision – their cash rate is expected to remain at 3.00%.
The highly influential US non-farm payrolls employment figures hit the tapes Friday night.
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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