New Zealand dollar falls below US$0.57
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Daily Currency Update
The New Zealand dollar is weaker this morning when valued against the Greenback currently trading at 0.5669 at time of writing. NZD/USD halts its four-day losing streak, trading around 0.5730 during the Asian hours on Friday. On the data front last week China's Trade Balance for February, in Chinese Yuan (CNY) terms, came in at CNY122 billion, compared to the previous figure of CNY752.91 billion. Exports climbed by 3.4% YoY in February vs. 10.9% in January. The country’s imports fell by 7.3% YoY in the same period vs. 1.3% registered previously. Looking ahead this week in New Zealand and on Tuesday Statistics New Zealand will release the quarterly Manufacturing Sales activity. On Thursday we will see the release of the monthly Visitor Arrivals. Tourism plays an important role in the economy, about 7% of the population is employed by the tourism industry, and a sizable portion of the nation's GDP is indirectly related to tourism. Finally, on Friday we will see the release of the BusinessNZ Manufacturing Index and Food Price Index (FPI).Key Movers
The US dollar Index (DXY) extends its brutal slide on Friday, heading for its worst weekly performance in over a year as traders accelerate the selloff ahead of the February employment report. Job growth was weaker than expected in February though still stable despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash the federal workforce. Nonfarm payrolls increased by a seasonally adjusted 151,000 on the month, better than the downwardly revised 125,000 in January, but less than the 170,000 consensus forecast from Dow Jones, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The unemployment rate edged higher to 4.1%. The labor force participation rate slumped to 62.4%, its lowest level since January 2023, as the labor force declined by 385,000. A broader measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time positions for economic reasons jumped half a percentage point to 8%, its highest level since October 2021. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) struggled on Friday, falling to a fresh seven-week low below 42,200 before staging a mild recovery to the 42, 800 region. Gold prices fell on Friday as the Greenback trims some of its losses and US Treasury bond yields recover following the release of a US jobs market report. At the time of writing, the XAU/USD trades at $2,907, down 0.11%.Expected Ranges
- NZD/USD: 0.5600 - 0.5800 ▼
- NZD/EUR: 0.5150 - 0.5350 ▼
- GBP/NZD: 2.2400 - 2.2600 ▲
- NZD/AUD: 1.0900 - 1.1100 ▼
- NZD/CAD: 0.8100 - 0.8300 ▼