The NZDUSD opens at 0.6440 (mid-rate) this morning.
It’s been a quiet start to the week with the U.S enjoying a long weekend (Martin Luther-King day). The NZD is slightly higher against the majority of its major trading partners on this morning’s open.
Today investors will focus their attention on China’s Q4 GDP and Industrial production data releases with many economists expecting GDP to have grown 6.9% y/y, short of the government’s 7% target, and its worst increase since 1990. Industrial production is also expected to fall to 6% down slightly from 6.2%.
Overnight, Fonterra’s GDT auction could add further downward pressure to the NZD with investors expecting a further fall in dairy prices following yesterdays Fonterra announcement that Decembers milk powder collections from New Zealand and Australia were down 3% and 5% respectively, from Dec 2014.
Global equity markets are broadly lower - Dow CLOSED, S&P 500 CLOSED, FTSE -0.42%, DAX -0.25%, CAC -0.49%, Nikkei -1.12, Shanghai +0.44%.
Gold prices are slightly lower at $1088 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil is continues to slide currently down 1.65% at $28.88 a barrel.
Current indicative rates:
NZDUSD 0.6440 0.2%
NZDEUR 0.5915 0.7%
NZDGBP 0.4515 0.2%
NZDJPY 75.60 0.7%
NZDAUD 0.9395 0.0%
NZDCAD 0.9370 -0.2%
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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