The Opening Bell: Where currencies start on Tuesday, August 7, 2018

By Dan Bell

The NZDUSD opens at 0.6731 (mid-rate) this morning.

In what has been a subdued start to the trading week with trade war concerns continuing to weigh on sentiment, the British pound has been the biggest mover, falling against all its rivals following comments from the UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox.

During an interview with The Sunday Times, Mr Fox put the chances of a no-deal Brexit at "60-40," as well as stating that he believes “the intransigence of the commission is pushing us towards no deal."

Yesterday’s weaker than expected ANZ commodity index had little effect on the NZD with most of the 3.2% fall in July attributed to dairy prices which were down 6.5% m/m and 7.1% on a year ago.

Overnight survey data by think tank Sentix showed that Euro-zone investor confidence is on the rise, with the investor sentiment index rising to 14.7 in August from 12.1 in July. The index had been expected to increase to 13.4.

This afternoon the RBA are expected to keep their OCR unchanged at a record low of 1.5%, with the tone of the statement set to signal short-term direction for the NZDAUD cross rate.

Global equity markets are mixed, - Dow +0.08%, S&P 500 +0.28%, FTSE -0.06%, DAX -0.14%, CAC -0.03%, Nikkei -0.08%, Shanghai -1.29%.

Gold prices have edged down 0.4%, trading at $1,208 an ounce WTI Crude Oil prices are up 1.2% trading at $68.15 a barrel.

Current indicative rates:

Upcoming Data releases (NZST):

• 16:30 - RBA Rate Statement

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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at xe money transfer in Auckland. You can contact him here »