The NZDUSD opens at 0.7320 (mid-rate) this morning.
The FOMC minutes released this morning have downplayed the possibility of a June rate hike.
The Fed said that “several” members back in March believed that they were on track to raise rates in June, however following the recent run of disappointing U.S data releases including April’s dismal retail sales, many participants thought it unlikely that the data available in June would provide sufficient confirmation that the conditions for raising the target range for the federal funds rate had been satisfied, although they generally did not rule out this possibility.
Economists will now switch their attention to this afternoons annual budget for further direction.
Overnight the bank of England policymakers voted unanimously to hold the key interest rate at a record low of 0.50% and their asset purchase programme at GBP 375 billion. Economists now believe any hike in the OCR won’t come before Q1 2016.
Global equity markets are mixed - Dow -0.15%, Nikkei+0.85%, Shanghai +0.65%, FTSE +0.17%, DAX -0.04%, CAC +0.31%
Gold prices are up $4 at $1211 an ounce, Oil (WTI) has gained 1.6% trading at $58.85 barrel.
The current indicative mid-rates are:
NZDUSD 0.7320
NZDEUR 0.6575
NZDGBP 0.4705
NZDJPY 88.65
NZDAUD 0.9260
NZDCAD 0.8920
Domestic data releases today
10:45 - Visitor arrivals m/m
13:45 - CNY HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI
14:00 - Annual Budget Release
15:00 - Credit Card Spending y/y
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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