The NZDUSD opens lower at 0.7228 this morning.
The Kiwi was the worst performer of the G10 currencies overnight as global markets continued to fall.
The RBNZ left rates unchanged at 1.75% yesterday morning, with RBNZ Governor Spencer stating “we are not concerned about currency and are comfortable with where it is at.”
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to maintain their Official Bank Rate at 0.5%. The U.K. economy expanded by 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, slightly above the Bank's forecast of 0.4 percent. Incoming data for the country's economy has been mixed since the MPC's last meeting in December 2017.
U.S. filings for unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined last week, hovering close to an almost 45-year low and signaling a tight job market, Labour Department figures showed Thursday. In the week ending February 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 230,000. The 4-week moving average was 224,500.
Overnight data tonight includes Swiss Unemployment Rate, UK Manufacturing Production, UK Goods Trade Balance, UK Contruction Output m/m, UK Industrial Production m/m, US Wholesale Inventories, Canadian Employment Change and Unemployment Rate.
Global equity markets are lower except the Japan: Dow -2.06%, S&P500 -1.66%, FTSE -1.49%, DAX -2.62%, CAC -1.98%, Nikkei +1.13%, Shanghai -1.43%.
Gold prices are up 0.1% to USD$1,316 an ounce. Oil prices (WTI) are down 0.5% at USD$61.08 per barrel.
Current indicative rates:
| NZDUSD | 0.7228 | -0.3% |
| NZDEUR | 0.5891 | -0.4% |
| NZDGBP | 0.5193 | -0.7% |
| NZDJPY | 78.69 | -0.7% |
| NZDAUD | 0.9266 | -0.1% |
| NZDCAD | 0.9092 | -0.3% |
| GBPNZD | 1.9246 | 0.7% |
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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