Here's my summary of the key events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news private employers in the US created more jobs than expected in March. The ADP National Employment Report shows 200,000 jobs were added to the private sector over the month - an increase on par with that of the previous four years.
It's interesting to observe the Fed's Chair tread cautiously around interest rate hikes when the job market is expected to remain in such a high gear. All eyes will now be on the US Labour Department's non-farm payrolls report out on Saturday, which includes both public and private-sector employment.
The Asian Development Bank has revised its forecast for China’s economic growth this year down from 6.7% to 6.5%, due to weak external demand and slowing investment. It expects growth to slow even more next year, to 6.3%. It says the impact of the fall will be dampened by higher consumption and ongoing government spending.
Staying in China, two of the country's biggest lenders have reported slides in profit and jumps in bad loans. ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) and the Bank of China have seen their net profits rise by less than 1% in 2015, and their bad loan ratios increase by around 30 basis points. ICBC says loans are going sour as the economy slows, structural adjustments deepen and industrial transformation accelerates.
On the flipside, Chinese consumer sentiment increased sharply in March, as people were more optimistic about their personal finances, the housing market and buying conditions. This is according to the Westpac MNI China Consumer Sentiment Indicator, which rose to its highest level since September last year.
In New York the benchmark UST 10yr yield has eased back to 1.84%.
Local wholesale swap rates will open today at record lows for most terms.
The US crude oil price remains at US$38/barrel, while Brent is at US$39/barrel.
The gold price is up to US$1,228/oz.
The US dollar remains weak following the Fed Chair on Tuesday saying the central bank should be cautious as it looks to raise interest rates this year. The NZ dollar has climbed a half a cent overnight to 69.1 US¢. It's up to 90.2 AU¢, and 61.0 euro cents. The TWI-5 index has risen to 72.3.
The NZ dollar is the highest it's been against the US since June last year and the TWI is approaching its 2016 high set at the beginning of this year.
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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