The NZDUSD opens at 0.7108 (mid-rate) this morning.
The USD continued to slip lower on Friday with the NZDUSD spiking to a new 2017 high of 0.7140, with the US looking forward to a long weekend as they celebrate Martin Luther King Day, today there was little reaction to their economic data releases which delivered mixed results.
While the US produced price index and retail sales releases were slightly ahead of expectations both the core retail sales and core PPI releases were just shy of economists ‘estimates. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index pulled back 98.1 in January after peaking at 98.2 in December, its highest level since January 2004.
The British pound has been the worst performing currency after the Times reported U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will signal plans for a “hard Brexit” by saying she’s willing to quit the European Union’s single market for goods and services to regain control of Britain’s borders and laws. May is scheduled to outline her blueprint for Brexit on Tuesday evening.
Global equity markets finished the week mixed - Dow -0.03%, S&P 500 +0.18%, FTSE +0.62%, DAX +0.94%, CAC +1.20%, Nikkei +0.80%, Shanghai -0.21%.
Gold prices were little changed on Friday closing out the week at $1,197 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil fell 1.2% on Friday closing out the week at $52.37 a barrel. A weekly decline of 3%.
Current indicative rates:
NZDUSD 0.7108 -0.4%
NZDEUR 0.6698 0.0%
NZDGBP 0.5920 1.1%
NZDJPY 81.25 -0.3%
NZDAUD 0.9491 -0.1%
NZDCAD 0.9345 -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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