New Zealand dollar falls below US$0.60
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Daily Currency Update
The New Zealand dollar is weaker this morning when valued against the Greenback currently trading at 0.5971 at the time of writing. The Kiwi dollar continued to lose ground on the second consecutive session on Friday which could be attributed to mixed data from the United States. On the data front last week New Zealand's Trade Balance improved to $-11.99 billion year-on-year, compared to the previous figure of $-12.62 billion. Both exports and imports witnessed an increase, rebounding from a minor decline observed in January. Exports surged to $5.89 billion from $4.81 billion, while imports rose to $6.11 billion from $5.9 billion. Moreover, there are emerging hopes that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) might consider cutting its official cash rate this year, rather than waiting until next year, in response to an unexpected recession in Q4 of 2023. Looking ahead to this week and the only scheduled release will be the ANZ Business Confidence on Thursday. A survey of about 1,500-2,000 businesses asks respondents to rate the relative 12-month economic outlook. A leading indicator of economic health - businesses react quickly to market conditions, and changes in their sentiment can be an early signal of future economic activity such as spending, hiring, and investment.Key Movers
In the US on Friday the S&P Global Services PMI exhibited a slight decline in March, dropping to 51.7 from 52.3, slightly below the expected reading of 52.0. Conversely, the Manufacturing PMI increased to 52.5, surpassing expectations of 51.7 and the previous figure of 52.2. However, the Composite PMI showed a slight dip to 52.2 from the previous 52.5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was forced into the low side around three-quarters a percent as US equities drifted in multiple directions on Friday. Most of the US equity market’s major sectors were in the red on Friday, with Real Estate down around 1.25%, closely followed by the Financial Sector which fell 1.21%. The Communications Services Sector closed up around 0.85% as telecoms rebounded from recent selling pressure. The US economy is holding resilient with a strong labor market and inflation remaining sticky. Next week, February’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) will provide additional guidance to markets.The Pound Sterling remains vulnerable against the US dollar in Friday’s early New York session as the market sentiment is quite bearish. The GBP/USD pair fails to find support as increasing expectations that the Bank of England (BoE) will cut interest rates this year outweigh February Retail Sales data, which broadly beat market expectations. The United Kingdom Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that monthly Retail Sales were unchanged after increasing by a significant 3.6% in January, a figure that was upwardly revised from 3.4%. Investors had anticipated sales to decline by 0.3%. On an annual basis, sales contracted by 0.5% against expectations of a 0.7% decline. The GBP/USD pair is currently trading at 1.2558 at the time of writing.
Expected Ranges
- NZD/USD: 0.5850 - 0.6050 ▼
- NZD/EUR: 0.5400 - 0.5600 ▼
- GBP/NZD: 2.0700 - 2.0900 ▲
- NZD/AUD: 1.0650 - 1.0850 ▲
- NZD/CAD: 0.8000 - 0.8200 ▼