NZD lower as global equities sold off
Daily Currency Update
The Kiwi was the worst performing currency yesterday, falling 0.8% on the day as global equities fell sharply. There was no obvious reason for the fall in equities however the moves spilled over into currency markets as commodity currencies like the Kiwi and Aussie were hit hard while safe haven currencies such as the Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc outperformed.Opening this morning’s session the Kiwi is currently trading slightly higher than yesterdays low of 0.6694. There have also been decent moves in the crosses with NZD/AUD lower around 0.9216 and NZD/EUR down nearly 1% to 0.5655.
We’re set for a quiet domestic docket today with only second tier construction data due out of New Zealand. Traders will be focusing on tonight’s US non-farm payrolls read where markets are looking for a 1350K increase and a lower unemployment rate of 9.8%.
Key Movers
As we touched on above, the big falls in global equities have dominated headlines in financial markets overnight. The S&P500 fell 4% without any trigger whilst the Euro Stoxx 600 performed better, only falling 1.4%.The moves did spill over into currency markets however the USD index was largely unchanged on the day whilst safe haven currencies outperformed. USD/JPY fell to 106.00 and the EUR returned to levels above 1.18 after a two day downtrend.
Commodities were mixed amidst the risk off mood. Despite 1% and 1.3% falls in oil and copper, Iron ore rose 2% to touch its highest level since January 2014.
Expected Ranges
- NZD/USD: 0.6650 - 0.6770 ▼
- GBP/NZD: 1.9685 - 1.9840 ▲
- AUD/NZD: 1.0800 - 1.0900 ▲
- NZD/CAD: 0.8785 - 0.8840 ▼