NZD leading the pack

The Opening Bell: Where currencies start on Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Currencies

The Opening Bell: Where currencies start on Tuesday, February 10, 2015

10th Feb 15, 8:36am by Dan Bell

The NZDUSD opens at 0.7427 (mid-rate) this morning.

The NZD has had a good night gaining almost a cent against the greenback (as well as making gains against all its major trading partners) with investors choosing to ignore risk (Ukraine, Greek Debt) and instead focusing their attention on rising commodity prices.

Overnight Germany's trade surplus data release for 2014 reached a record high, with exports increasing by 3.7% (EUR 1,133.6 billion and imports climbing 2% (EUR 916.5billion). The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 217.0 billion in 2014, which is the highest value ever recorded.

Global equity markets are mixed - Dow -0.34%, Nikkei +0.36%, Shanghai +0.62%, FTSE -0.24% DAX -1.69%, CAC -0.85%.\

Gold prices gained $8 currently trading at $1241, Oil prices continue to strengthen up 2.72% to $53.91 a barrel.

The current indicative mid-rates are:

NZDUSD           0.7427
NZDEUR           0.6551
NZDGBP           0.4877
NZDJPY           88.11
NZDAUD           0.9499
NZDCAD           0.9241

There are no NZ data releases today:
14:30 China CPI y/y
China PPI y/y

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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: RBNZ

Source: CoinDesk

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1 Comments

by Stephen L | 10th Feb 15, 11:04am 1423519499

Germany's trade surplus data release for 2014 reached a record high, with exports increasing by 3.7% (EUR 1,133.6 billion and imports climbing 2% (EUR 916.5billion). The foreign trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 217.0 billion in 2014, which is the highest value ever recorded.

You can debate whether the Greeks or the Germans are holding the other to ransom, but this German trade surplus is probably the single biggest distortion in world markets. Arguably it was the prime underlying reason for subprime and the GFC. The Germans, Japanese and Chinese are addicted to spending less than they earn, so they have to invest in other assets or loan the money to others to buy their goods. Inevitably they pump up asset prices and loan money to people/companies/countries that have no chance of paying it back. Then they express mock outrage when the cards collapse.

The Euro really has to go.

Ambrose Evans Pritchard on Europeans being shocked that the Greeks are playing hard ball.

Why on earth would the Greeks cave? There is a $200 billion a year vacuum cleaner sucking the wind out of their economy right next door. Fighting that from within is impossible; they have to get out, or the Germans have to concede in almost absolute surrender. I am stunned that the Europeans are stunned.