The NZDUSD opens at 0.7022 (mid-rate) this morning.
Geopolitical headlines are likely to dominate markets at the start of this week after US President Donald Trump accused Canadian PM Justin Trudeau of engaging in "bad faith diplomacy" and retracted his endorsement of the G7's joint communique.
Ahead of the weekend’s meeting President Trump escalated trade war tensions when he tweeted “Please tell Prime Minister Trudeau and President Macron that they are charging the U.S. massive tariffs and create non-monetary barriers". Investors have been quick to react to the breakdown in talks with the USDCAD gapping a big figure higher on the open.
Markets will be hoping for a better outcome from tomorrow’s historic summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who have both arrived in Singapore ahead of tomorrow’s face-to-face meeting. Should the summit goes ahead, it will be the first ever meeting between a serving US president and a North Korean leader. President Trump with the US hoping to strike a deal that will lead to denuclearisation in return for lifting the current economic sanctions.
Monetary policy statements out of the Federal Reserve, ECB and BOJ later in the week are the key economic drivers this week with a 25 basis point hike out of the US fully priced in.
Global equity markets closed out the week mixed, - Dow +0.30%, S&P 500 +0.31%, FTSE -0.30%, DAX -0.35%, CAC +0.03%, Nikkei -0.56%, Shanghai -1.36%.
Gold prices edged lower on Friday down 0.2%, closing out the week at $1,299 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices were down 0.6% on Friday, to close out the week at $65.60 a barrel, for a modest weekly loss.
Current indicative rates:
| NZDUSD | 0.7022 | -0.1% |
| NZDEUR | 0.5965 | 0.2% |
| NZDGBP | 0.5235 | 0.0% |
| NZDJPY | 76.75 | -0.5% |
| NZDAUD | 0.9255 | 0.3% |
| NZDCAD | 0.9125 | 0.0% |
| GBPNZD | 1.9102 | 0.0% |
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at xe money transfer in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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