New Zealand dollar unable to hold on to US$0.61

Key Movers

In the US, overnight we saw the release of US PMI data for March, Initial Jobless Claims and the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, which all supported the USD. Business activity in the US private sector continued to expand at a healthy pace in early March, with the S&P Global Composite PMI coming in at 52.2. This reading came in slightly below the February's 52.5. S&P Global Manufacturing PMI improved to 52.5 from 52.2 in the same period, while S&P Global Services PMI edged lower to 51.7 from 52.3. The latest Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index remained in positive territory for a second straight month, indicating continued expansion. In March, the index inched down to 3.2 from 5.2 in February, coming in above the forecast of -2.6. In the latest report the index remained in positive territory for a second straight month. This is only the fourth positive reading for the index in the past 22 months. In other words, the index has had 18 negative readings in the past 22 months, which more closely resembles those periods during recessions. While the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, sales of previously owned homes increased by the most in a year in February, signs the economy remained on solid footing in the first quarter. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 for the week ending March 16, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 claims in the latest week. Claims have been mostly bouncing around a 200,000-213,000 range since February. Despite a flurry of high-profile layoffs at the start of the year, employers have largely been hoarding labour after struggling to find workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.