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New Zealand dollar slightly weaker against the greenback

Daily Currency Update

NZD - New Zealand Dollar


The New Zealand dollar opened slightly weaker against the greenback down only 0.4% on Friday. Commodity and risk-sensitive currencies like the Kiwi dollar have taken a hit recently when markets worry about the global growth outlook. On Friday we saw the release of the ANZ NZ consumer confidence survey which showed confidence falling to its lowest level since April last year and, before that, its lowest level since 2009.

Looking ahead today and there are no scheduled releases. On Tuesday we will see the release of the ANZ Business Confidence which is a leading indicator of economic health. On Wednesday we will see the release of monthly Building Consents. Finally on Friday we will see the release of the quarterly Overseas Trade Index which calculates the volume of imports that can be purchased with an equal volume of exports. From a technical perspective, the NZD/USD pair is currently trading at 0.7040. We continue to expect support to hold on to moves approaching 0.6970 while now any upward push will likely meet resistance around 0.7085.

Key Movers

Financial markets are suffering from the announcement of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, as health officials suspect it could evade the immune response provided by previous contagions or the vaccines. Over the weekend the New Omicron COVID-19 cases have emerged across Europe, with the UK, the Netherlands and Germany all recording new incidences. We have already seen the UK Government report a third case of the Omicron variant this morning. Germany has also confirmed a third case of the variant, that the case was recorded in the central state of Hesse, while the previous two were in Munich. Two returned travellers have tested positive for the new Omicron variant after arriving in Sydney over the weekend. We anticipate the market to remain volatile until more information is known about the variant and particularly how effective the current crop of vaccines is against it.

Expected Ranges

  • NZD/USD: 0.6750 - 0.6950 ▼
  • NZD/EUR: 0.5950 - 0.6150 ▼
  • GBP/NZD: 1.9350 - 1.9550 ▲
  • NZD/AUD: 1.0330 - 1.0530 ▼
  • NZD/CAD: 0.8750 - 0.8950 ▼