The NZDUSD opens at 0.6550 (mid-rate) this morning.
The NZD has continued its poor start to the new year in a risk-off environment with investors concerned about China and the health of the global economy.
The NZD has lost 3 cents against the greenback, since the markets reopened last Monday.
The U.S. non-farm payrolls printed well ahead of economists estimates with 292k jobs created in December (exp 200k) while the unemployment rate remained at 5% (seven year lows).
Led by China, the world’s major indexes posted significant losses last week with the FTSE down 5.3%, the Dow and S&P falling 6.2% and 6% respectively and the Nasdaq plummeting 7.3%
European and U.S. equity markets closed out the week sharply lower - Dow -1.02%, S&P 500 -1.08%, FTSE -0.7%, DAX -1.31%, CAC -1.59%, Nikkei -0.39%, Shanghai +1.97%.
Gold prices dipped on Friday ending a 5-day win streak but still managed to gain 3.6% over the week to close at $1,103 an ounce,
WTI crude oil plummeted 10% last week, closing out the week at $33.16 a barrel (12yr low).
Current indicative rates:
NZDUSD 0.6550
NZDEUR 0.6005
NZDGBP 0.4515
NZDJPY 76.89
NZDAUD 0.9415
NZDCAD 0.9280
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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