Home Daily Commentaries New Zealand dollar trades above US$0.59

New Zealand dollar trades above US$0.59

Brett Ottawa
Written by
Brett Ottawa

Brett Ottawa

OFXpert

Brett brings a wealth of experience, boasting more than 15 years in the foreign exchange market.

| Tuesday 22 April, 2025

Daily Currency Update

The New Zealand dollar is stronger this morning when valued against the Greenback, trading at US$0.5996 at the time of writing. The New Zealand dollar (NZD) is buoyed by a weaker US dollar (USD), which is under pressure due to mounting concerns over the US economic fallout from US tariffs. The NZD remains stronger following Monday's People's Bank of China’s (PBoC) interest rate decision. The PBoC left its Loan Prime Rates (LPRs) unchanged, keeping the one-year rate at 3.10% and the five-year rate at 3.60%.

On the local front today, Statistics New Zealand will release the monthly Trade Balance figures. Export and currency demand are directly linked because foreigners must buy the domestic currency to pay for the nation's exports. Export demand also impacts production and prices for domestic manufacturers.

On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will release the latest Credit Card Spending. It's correlated with consumer spending and confidence - rising debt levels are a sign that lenders feel comfortable issuing loans, and that consumers are confident in their financial position and eager to spend money.

Key Movers

The US Dollar Index (DXY) trades deep in the red on Monday, sliding toward the 98.50 region, marking a new three-year low. US stock markets fell again on Monday as Donald Trump continued attacks against the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, whom the US president called “a major loser” for not lowering interest rates.

In recent days, Trump has amped up attacks against the Fed chair, pushing Powell to lower interest rates to offset the inflationary impacts of the new tariffs. Trump is pressuring the Fed to cut rates, likely to appease the stock market, which plummeted after he announced his latest slate of tariffs. Wall Street isn’t taking the bait and appears to be reacting in opposition to Trump’s attacks against Powell and the independence of the US central bank.

The Dow ended the day down 2.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell over 2.5% down, and the S&P 500 fell 2.4%. Former tech stocks favourites, including Tesla and Nvidia, lost ground, while the value of the dollar fell to multi-year lows against most major currencies.

Expected Ranges

  • NZD/USD: 0.5900 - 0.6100 ▲
  • NZD/EUR: 0.5100 - 0.5300 ▲
  • GBP/NZD: 2.2200 - 2.2400 ▼
  • NZD/AUD: 1.0600 - 1.0800 ▲
  • NZD/CAD: 0.8200 - 0.8400 ▼

Written by

Brett Ottawa

OFXpert

Brett brings a wealth of experience, boasting more than 15 years in the foreign exchange market. He started his foreign exchange career with OFX more than a decade ago, as a private dealer catering to individual clients. He later transitioned to the corporate sector, assuming the position of Corporate Senior Relationship Manager. What truly excites Brett is the opportunity to engage with people, supporting their business growth and sharing in their successes.