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The Opening Bell: Where currencies start for Monday, October 7, 2013

Currencies
The Opening Bell: Where currencies start for Monday, October 7, 2013

By Dan Bell

The NZDUSD opens at 0.8320 this morning.

The USD remains near 8-month lows as the US government shutdown and the fast approaching debt ceiling keeps the USD under pressure. This helped push the NZDUSD to a high of 0.8345.

The political stalemate and shutdown continues to drag on in Washington, with Friday’s scheduled release of the highly influential and closely watched US non-farm payroll employment figures a casualty – they will be published once the shutdown ends.

The US debt ceiling is forecast to be reached on 17th October. This is likely to be an even more complex fight and could lead to a US debt default which could trigger significant financial market volatility.

There is not a lot on the NZ data calendar this week. NZIER Business Confidence numbers will be released Tuesday being the most important. The continuing machinations concerning the US government shutdown and debt ceiling are likely to be the dominant themes this week.

Global equity markets were mostly higher on the day  – Dow +0.5%, Nikkei -0.9%, Shanghai +0.6%, FTSE +0.1%, DAX +0.3%

The Gold Price is at USD$1310 an ounce. Oil rose 0.4% and base metal prices were generally higher on the day.

The NZD opens at 0.8320 USD, 0.8810 AUD, 0.8560 CAD, 0.6130 EUR, 0.5190 GBP, & 80.95 JPY.

There is no data on the domestic calendar today.

Its is Labour Day holiday in Australia today.

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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »

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