By Dan Bell
The NZD/USD traded a tight range overnight and opened around 0.7620 after a high of 0.7674 and a low of 0.7606.
The EUR/USD dropped to an 11 month low of 1.3055. Despite the large fall in the EUR, the NZD/USD and AUD/USD managed to hold above recent support levels.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated her rejection to increase the size of Europe's permanent bailout fund - markets decided to focus their attention on this despite the fact it has added nothing new to the current discussion.
The NZD is up against the EUR and opens over 0.58, is slightly weaker against the AUD and opens around 0.7560 and is relatively unchanged against GBP at 0.49 and JPY at 59.30.
Fonterra raised their payout forecast for the season by 20 cents yesterday which equates to an additional $300m in revenue.
US stocks are currently up 0.8% with another 2 hours before Wall Street closes despite a weaker than expected US Retail Sales for November which came in at +0.2% on the month.
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here
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