Daily Currency Update
NZD - New Zealand DollarThe New Zealand dollar has dropped to fresh weekly lows thanks to a stronger Greenback and the local unit struggling to find demand following Wednesdays disappointing labour data where the number of jobs dropped by 0.2% following an expectation of a 0.5% increase. The NZD/USD witnessed a low of 0.6608 overnight and with the absence of any local data the Kiwi will likely struggle to gain momentum and could potentially fall back in 66cMeanwhile, yesterday’s Building Consents issued from Stats NZ said the total number of building permits issued in New Zealand fell 6.9% for the month of March following Februarys 1.7% increase. Meanwhile, residential properties sold to overseas buyers dropped in the March quarter after the foreign buyer ban came into place. Adopting a technical viewpoint, we see initial NZD/USD support at 0.6600 (psychological level) on the downside followed by 0.6580 (weekly low). On the topside, first line of resistance seen at 0.6680 followed by 0.6700.
Key Movers
The U.S dollar index has edged higher following positive U.S economic data, the Commerce Department said factory goods orders increased 1.9% in March year on year, beating economists' expectations for a 1% rise. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims remained unchanged at 230,000 missing expectations for a decline of 10,000.In the UK, the GBP/USD rate fell from 1.3100 to 1.3028 after the BoE left interest rates unchanged. May is still under pressure to pass her deal, however, we don’t see a breakthrough anytime soon and another extension beyond October 31st could be on the cards if May is ousted over the British summer, this postpones a BoE hike and should weigh on GBP furthermore.
Expected Ranges
- NZD/USD: 0.6580 - 0.6670 ▼
- NZD/EUR: 0.5870 - 0.5970 ▼
- NZD/AUD: 0.9420 - 0.9500 ▲
- GBP/NZD: 1.9550 - 2.0000 ▲
- NZD/CAD: 0.8850 - 0.8980 ▼