Daily Currency Update
The New Zealand dollar is stronger this morning when valued against the Greenback currently trading at 0.5852 at time of writing. The NZD/USD halts its three-day losing streak during the Asian session on Friday. The New Zealand dollar might have received downward pressure as the Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) fell to 45.8 in October, down from a revised 47.0 in September, reaching its lowest level since July 2024. China’s Retail Sales rose 4.8% year-over-year in October, surpassing the expected 3.8% and the 3.2% increase seen in September. Meanwhile, the country’s Industrial Production grew by 5.3% YoY, slightly below the forecasted 5.6% but higher than the 5.4% growth recorded in the previous period. Looking ahead today and BusinessNZ will release the Performance of Services Index a survey of purchasing managers which asks respondents to rate the relative level of business conditions including employment, production, new orders, prices, supplier deliveries, and inventories. Statistics New Zealand will also release the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) a leading indicator of consumer inflation - when manufacturers pay more for goods the higher costs are usually passed on to the consumer.
Key Movers
The US dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the US dollar's performance against six major currencies, has pulled back from its yearly high of 107.06 recorded on Thursday. This decline is attributed to a slowdown in "Trump trades." At the time of writing, the DXY trades near 106.50. U.S. retail sales increased slightly more than expected in October as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles and electronic goods, suggesting the economy kicked off the fourth quarter on a strong note. The fairly upbeat sales report on Friday, which was accompanied by sharp upward revisions to September's data, together with news of a rebound in import prices last month, prompted traders to pare back expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in December. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday "the economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates." Retail sales rose 0.4% last month after an upwardly revised 0.8% advance in September, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, would climb 0.3% after a previously reported 0.4% gain in September. Stocks fell Friday, putting major indexes in the red for the week as the election-fueled rally that took stocks to a series of record highs fizzled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.7%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lost 1.3% and 2.2%, respectively. All three indexes lost ground this week. The Dow declined 1.2%, while the S&P and Nasdaq each recorded their biggest weekly declines since September after shedding 2.1%, and 3.2%, respectively.
Expected Ranges
- NZD/USD: 0.5750 - 0.5950 ▼
- NZD/EUR: 0.5450 - 0.5650 ▼
- GBP/NZD: 2.1250 - 2.1450 ▲
- NZD/AUD: 1.0850 - 1.1050 ▲
- NZD/CAD: 0.8100 - 0.8300 ▼