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The Opening Bell: Where currencies start on Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Currencies
The Opening Bell: Where currencies start on Wednesday, December 17, 2014

By Dan Bell

The NZDUSD opens at 0.7791 (mid-rate) this morning.

The NZDUSD has traded as high as 0.7840 following this morning’s Fonterra announcement.Fonterra's GDT Price Index climbed 2.4%, with an average selling price of $2,609 per tonne.

Overnight the release of the German ZEW Economic Sentiment number showed Germany's economic confidence rose to the highest level since May 2014.

The indicator of economic sentiment rose sharply by 23.4 points to 34.9 in December, on the back of a weakening EURO and falling oil prices.

UK inflation fell from 1.3% in October to 1% in November, the lowest level since 2002, again the decline in oil prices is the major factor in this fall.

In an attempt to stop the Russia plummeting towards an economic crisis the Bank of Russia has hiked interest rates for the sixth time this year, this time raising the rate from 10.5% to 17% (the Ruble has now lost 57% of its value vs. the USD over the course of this year.)

European and US equity markets have had a better night - Dow +0.17%, Nikkei -2.01%, Shanghai +2.31%, FTSE +2.41% DAX +2.46%, CAC +2.19%.

Gold prices are holding steady at US$1,193, Oil prices continue also remained steady at $56.01 a barrel.

The current indicative mid-rates are:

NZDUSD           0.7791
NZDEUR           0.6225
NZDGBP           0.4948
NZDJPY              91.32
NZDAUD           0.9481
NZDCAD           0.9058

Domestic data releases today:
10:45 - Current Account

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

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Source: CoinDesk

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