New Zealand remains steady following the release of Chinese PMIs
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Daily Currency Update
The New Zealand dollar is slightly weaker this morning when valued against the Greenback, currently trading at US$0.5910 at time of writing. The NZDUSD pair struggles to gain any meaningful traction during the Asian session on Wednesday and languishes near the lower end of a nearly two-week-old trading range. On the data front, yesterday saw New Zealand’s ANZ Business Confidence fell sharply in April, dropping from 57.5 to 49.3. ANZ noted the decline may reflect growing apprehension over the global economic outlook, particularly uncertainty stemming from the escalating US-China trade war and broader policy unpredictability from the US administration. The National Bureau of Statistics reported that China’s official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) contracted to 49 in April, compared to 50.5 in the previous month and 49.9 expected. Moreover, the NBS Non-Manufacturing PMI eased more than expected, to 50.4 in April from 50.8 in March. However, China's Caixin Manufacturing PMI fell from 51.2 to 50.4 in April, beating the market forecast of 49.9. The data fails to provide any meaningful impetus to antipodean currencies, including the NZD, amid mixed signals about US-China trade talks.Key Movers
The US Dollar Index (DXY) hovered near 99.30 on Wednesday. The US economy shrank in the first three months of the year, according to official data, triggering fears of an American recession and a global economic slowdown. USGross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year, down from growth of 2.4% in the last quarter of 2024. The contraction, the first since the start of 2022, puts the US on the brink of a technical recession, defined by two quarters of negative growth. The drop in activity comes amid a huge fall in consumer sentiment, which in April dropped 32% to its lowest level since the 1990 recession. US stocks dropped on Wednesday morning. By the end of the day, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones had eked out small gains, while the NASDAQ had dropped marginally. The major US indices all fell upon opening, but ha mostly recovered by the close. The NASDAQ was down 0.086%, the S&P 500 was up by 0.15% and the Dow Jones was in the green by 0.35%. The focus now will shift to the closely watched US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) on Friday, which may provide insight into the Federal Reserve's policy outlook.Expected Ranges
- NZD/USD: 0.5850 - 0.6050 ▲
- NZD/EUR: 0.5150 - 0.5350 ▲
- GBP/NZD: 2.2350 - 2.2550 ▼
- NZD/AUD: 1.0650 - 1.0850 ▼
- NZD/CAD: 0.8100 - 0.8300 ▲