Home Daily Commentaries Kiwi whittled lower as Greenback strengthens

Kiwi whittled lower as Greenback strengthens

Daily Currency Update

The New Zealand dollar has primarily oscillated within a tight range for much of the week but did see some falls overnight. Opening this morning just above 0.66 at 0.6607, the Kiwi was whittled slightly lower as the Greenback strengthened marginally overnight. Adding to the Kiwi’s declines were fresh woes from New Zealand’s largest trading partner with the Aussie falling 0.56% yesterday which saw the Kiwi drift lower in sympathy.
Moving into Wednesday the Kiwi enjoys a quiet day on the domestic economic calendar with little to digest. All eyes however remain on the Federal Reserve as the market trades in a holding pattern ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s semi-annual testimony to congress.

Key Movers

The Great British Pound fell to its lowest level since April 2017 overnight, reaching 1.2440 amidst growing concerns. Starting the day on a relatively flat trajectory the Sterling plummeted swiftly after the BRC's retail sales reported an annual drop of 1.6%. Widely expected to be a reading of 0%, the BRC used words like 'bleak' to describe the retail landscape and adding a pall on an already under-siege Great British Pound. Adding fuel to the fire was last weeks PMI readings for June which showed a stagnation in the second quarter as well as fresh no-deal Brexit concerns as Boris Johnson tightens his grasp on the Prime Ministership race.
Across the Atlantic, the US Dollar Index (DXY) was also a strong performer ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s testimony tonight in front of Congress. The DXY drifted 0.12% higher and has now strung together 5 consecutive sessions of gains to trade at 97.5 against a basket of currencies.

Expected Ranges

  • NZD/AUD: 0.9501 - 0.9563 ▲
  • NZD/CAD: 0.8626 - 0.8702 ▼
  • NZD/EUR: 0.5846 - 0.5939 ▲
  • GBP/NZD: 1.8829 - 1.8892 ▼
  • NZD/USD: 0.6576 - 0.6636 ▼