Here's my summary of the key events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news interest rates have been kept on hold in the States.
The Federal Open Market Committee has just announced it'll keep its key lending rate in a range of 0.25% to 0.50%. It says it "remains accommodative" supporting further improvement in labour market conditions and a return to 2% inflation.
It expects economic activity to expand at a "moderate pace" and inflation to remain low in the near term, partly due to low energy prices. While it says it's keeping a close eye on "global economic and financial developments", it makes no mention of the impact of slowing growth in China.
In other news, recovering oil prices have helped global stock markets cut losses caused by disappointing forecasts from Apple and Boeing. The price of US Crude oil has surged above US$32/barrel, while oil futures have jumped 5% overnight.
The shift follows talk of Russia and OPEC working together in the face of the global oil glut. Up until now Russia has been unwilling to cut oil output, as it battles for market share with OPEC king-pin Saudi Arabia.
The rise in futures also comes as US data shows a surprise spike in demand for products such as heating oil, as the country's hit by a blizzard.
Staying in the US, new home sales surged to a 10-month high in December. In fact, the number of new houses sold over the year soared nearly 15% from the previous year, reaching its highest level since 2007. The US housing market is clearly being supported by tightening labour market conditions.
A US Mortgage Bankers Association report out overnight shows applications for home loans increased 8.8% last week, as mortgage rates remain low by historical standards.
In New York, the benchmark UST 10yr yield has inched up to 2.03%.
The price of US Crude oil has crept up since this time yesterday, to above US$32/barrel, while the Brent benchmark is up over a dollar to just above US$33/barrel.
The gold price is down marginally to US$1,116/oz.
Initial reactions to the Fed's decision have seen the US dollar firm slightly. The NZ dollar is now at 65.2 US¢, at 92.3 AU¢, and at 59.8 euro cents. The TWI-5 is at 70.8.
All eyes are now on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand as it reviews the Official Cash Rate this morning.
If you want to catch up with all the local changes yesterday, we have an update here.
The easiest place to stay up with event risk today is by following our Economic Calendar here ».
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