The NZDUSD opens lower at 0.8500 this morning.
The NZD finally cracked and fell to an 11-week low of circa 0.8480 overnight. The disappointing Business Confidence figures and cuts to Fonterra's forecast payout for 2014/15 eventually weighed on NZD sentiment.
The USD rallied to a new 8-week high against a basket of currencies, while the EUR fell on growing expectations the European Central Bank is on course for a significant easing in monetary policy at its meeting next week. These were also a negative for the NZD.
Global equity markets were mixed on the day - Dow -0.2%, Nikkei -0.1%, Shanghai +1.0%, FTSE +0.1%, DAX -0.0%
Gold prices fell 0.5% to USD$1258 - extending the previous session's 2% sell-off, to leave prices near 4-month lows. Oil prices dipped 0.2%.
The current indicative mid-rates are:
NZDUSD 0.8500
NZDEUR 0.6255
NZDGBP 0.5085
NZDJPY 86.55
NZDAUD 0.9205
NZDCAD 0.9245
There is no data scheduled on the domestic calendar today.
Australian New Home Sales & Private Capital Expenditure figures hit the around 1:30pm.
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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