The NZDUSD opens at 0.6731 (mid-rate) this morning.
The NZD continues to trade sideways against the majors, but finds itself trading at 6mth lows against the AUD. The AUD has been the standout performer over the past 24hrs pushing higher on the back of rising commodity prices and risk appetite.
As expected the RBA kept the OCR unchanged at 1.5% for the 24th consecutive month. In the accompanying statement the Reserve Bank near-term inflation forecast was lowered down to 1.75% this year, not rising to 2.25% as stated in earlier communications. Another notable change in the statement was a revision to the RBA’s unemployment forecast, with the Central Bank now expecting unemployment to decline to 5%, (a downward revision from 5.25%) over the next two years.
German exports remained flat while imports rose much faster than expected during June, with the Destatis report showing exports registered zero growth following a 1.7% increase in May (economists had forecast exports to fall 0.4%), while imports which had been expected to increase by 0.2% were up 1.2% for the same month.
Upbeat corporate earnings have seen global equity markets push higher overnight with mining and energy stocks showing solid gains on the back of rising commodity prices.
The NZD is expected to remain range-bound ahead of tomorrow morning’s RBNZ monetary policy statement due for release at 09:00 am.
Global equity markets are pushing higher, - Dow +0.64%, S&P 500 +0.38%, FTSE +0.71%, DAX +0.40%, CAC +0.81%, Nikkei +0.69%, Shanghai +2.74%.
Gold prices are unchanged trading at $1,208 an ounce WTI Crude Oil prices are up 0.5% trading at $68.46 a barrel.
Current indicative rates:
| NZDUSD | 0.6731 | 0.0% |
| NZDEUR | 0.5808 | -0.3% |
| NZDGBP | 0.5204 | 0.1% |
| NZDJPY | 75.05 | 0.1% |
| NZDAUD | 0.9071 | -0.4% |
| NZDCAD | 0.8796 | 0.5% |
| GBPNZD | 1.9216 | -0.1% |
Upcoming Data releases (NZST):
- 15:00 - Inflation Expectations q/q
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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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