The NZDUSD opens at 0.8670 this morning.
The USD eased overnight, nudging up the NZDUSD in the process, after US Fed chair Janet Yellen said there remains "considerable" slack in the economy and job market, and that the Fed's "extraordinary" commitment to boosting the economy will be needed for sometime.
These comments helped to alleviate fears of an early US tightening cycle.
President Putin orders partial troop withdrawal from the Ukrainian border, leading to a slight easing in East-West tensions.
The IMF, in its annual review of the NZ economy, said the NZD was between 5 & 15% overvalued - this attributed to the relatively high NZ interest rates, favourable growth outlook, and global appeal of our relatively safe assets. The IMF thought NZ's monetary and fiscal policies were on track.
Global equity markets were mixed on the day - Dow +0.8%, Nikkei +0.9%, Shanghai -0.3%, FTSE -0.3%, DAX -0.3%
Gold prices fell 0.8% to USD$1,283 - gold prices dropped in February, but overall rose 6.5% Q1 201, following a 28% slide in 2013. Oil prices dropped 0.3%.
The current indicative mid-rates are:
NZDUSD 0.8670
NZDEUR 0.6295
NZDGBP 0.5200
NZDJPY 89.50
NZDAUD 0.9355
NZDCAD 0.9580
There is no data scheduled on the domestic calendar today.
We have 2 Chinese Manufacturing PMI releases today - the official stats plus those put out by HSBC.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has an interest rate decision and accompanying statement at 4:30pm.
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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