The NZDUSD opens higher at 0.8025 this morning.
Yesterday’s NZ Q2 Retail Sales figures exceeded forecasts, with upwards revisions to Q1 to boot.
The USD was little changed. US treasury yields pushed up and there are growing expectations the US Federal Reserve will begin to scale back its massive stimulus program soon, possibly as early as next month. The NZDUSD rose overnight to hit a 0.8048 high.
The euro-zone economic growth was better than expected in data released overnight, ending 6 consecutive quarters of contraction. A fragile recovery appears to be taking hold, aided in no small part by strong growth out of France and Germany. The European Central Bank will still keep interest rates very low for an extended period of time to allow the recovery to strengthen and be more sustainable.
Global equity markets mixed – Dow -97, Nikkei +183, Shanghai -0.2%, FTSE -0.4%, DAX +0.3%
The Gold Price rose about 1% to USD$1335 an ounce. Oil gained 0.4% with Brent crude hitting a 4-month high, and base metal prices gained on the day.
The NZD opens at 0.8025 USD, 0.8795 AUD, 0.6055 EUR, 0.5175GBP, & 78.75 JPY.
NZ Manufacturing Index will be released at 10:45am.
Australian Inflation Expectations will hit the tapes this afternoon, followed by US Inflation and Manufacturing data tonight.
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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