New Zealand dollar trades below US$0.60
Written by
Daily Currency Update
The New Zealand dollar is weaker this morning when valued against the Greenback currently trading at 0.5994 at the time of writing. Last week in New Zealand the New Zealand Building Permits improved to 14.9% MoM in February from an 8.6% decline in the previous reading, Statistics New Zealand showed. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is expected to keep interest rates on hold at its policy meeting on Wednesday. The central bank noted that it needs to keep policy restrictive to ensure that inflation expectations become fully anchored. However, investors will take more cues from the policy statement, the dovish tweaks to the outlook might drag the New Zealand dollar (NZD) and create a headwind for the pair. The median forecast from the market showed the cash rate down 50 basis points of 5% by the end of this year. If the RBNZ is perceived to be later than the Federal Reserve it should lead to a higher NZDUSD. BusinessNZ will also release the latest BusinessNZ Manufacturing Index a survey of manufacturers which asks respondents to rate the relative level of business conditions including employment, production, new orders, prices, supplier deliveries, and inventories.Key Movers
U.S. employers hired far more workers than expected in March while raising wages, suggesting the economy ended the first quarter on solid ground and potentially delaying anticipated interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 303,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its closely watched employment report on Friday. Data for February was revised slightly lower to show 270,000 jobs added instead of 275,000 as previously reported. On the downside, government jobs rose a whopping 71K and the prior was revised to +63K from +52K. The leisure and hospitality sector was another big driver, which isn't exactly high-paying jobs. After the data, the Greenback strengthens as the US dollar Index (DXY) rises 0.155%, up at 04.36. US Treasury bond yields are climbing between 4.5 and 5 basis points. The US 10-year Treasury note rate is at 4.365%. S&P 500 e-mini futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street BONDS: The U.S. Treasury 10-year yield rose 8.9 basis points to 4.398%; Two-year yields rose 7.2 basis points to 4.7127% FOREX: The dollar index rose 0.4% to 104.65. Across the pond, Factory Orders in Germany improved in February, to 0.2%, improving from January’s -1.4% plunge. Moreover, Retail Sales from the Eurozone (EU) dived -0.5% MoM, worse than the estimated -0.4% contraction.Expected Ranges
- NZD/USD: 0.5900 - 0.6100 ▼
- NZD/EUR: 0.5400 - 0.5600 ▼
- GBP/NZD: 2.0850 - 2.1050 ▲
- NZD/AUD: 1.0800 - 1.1000 ▼
- NZD/CAD: 0.8040 - 0.8240 ▲