The NZDUSD opens at 0.6788 (mid-rate) this morning.
It’s a big day for the New Zealand dollar with the Reserve Bank releasing its semi-annual financial stability report at 09:00am this morning and RBNZ governor Adrian Orr addressing the Media at 11:00am before reporting to the Parliament Select Committee at 1:00pm.
The Reserve Bank are widely expected to deliver good news for home buyers by loosening its high loan-to-value ratio lending restrictions now that the housing market has cooled. Currently only 15% of new loans can go to borrowers with less than a 20% deposit. The investor rules which were put in place at the beginning of the year with deposit requirements of 35% for investors and 20% for owner occupiers could also be tweaked.
The USD slipped lower overnight after the US conference Board reported its confidence index fell further that expected in November. The report showed the Index declined to 135.7 in November after rising to 137.9 in October, it is worth noting that the October reading was an 18yr high. Economists had forecast the index to index down to 136.5.
Global equity markets are back in the red following President Donald Trump's comments in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Yesterday afternoon Mr Trump said he was “highly unlikely" to delay an increase in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%, and also threatened to add 10% tariffs on iPhones and laptops imported from China. The tariff increases are set to take affect on the 1st Jan.
The British pound was also dealt a blow late yesterday after Trump remarked that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal could endanger the country's chances of entering into a trade deal with the US. Trump described the agreement as a” great deal” for the EU but questioned whether the UK would be able to trade with the US under the agreement "Right now as the deal stands she may not -- they may not -- be able to trade with the US and I don't think they want that at all, that would be a very big negative for the deal," commented Trump.
Global equity markets are broadly lower, - Dow -0.44%, S&P 500 -0.06%, FTSE -0.27%, DAX -0.40%, CAC -0.24%, Nikkei +0.64%, Shanghai -0.04%.
Gold prices are down 0.8% trading at $1,212 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices have given back most of yesterday’s gains, currently down 1.6% trading at $51.01 a barrel.
Current indicative rates:
| NZDUSD | 0.6788 | 0.0% |
| NZDEUR | 0.6008 | 0.4% |
| NZDGBP | 0.5328 | 0.6% |
| NZDJPY | 77.23 | 0.2% |
| NZDAUD | 0.9407 | 0.2% |
| NZDCAD | 0.9029 | 0.5% |
| GBPNZD | 1.8769 | -0.6% |
Upcoming Data releases (NZST):
- 09:00 - RBNZ Financial Stability Report
- 11:00 - RBNZ Gov Orr Speaks
- 13:00 - RBNZ Gov Orr Speaks
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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at xe money transfer in Auckland. You can contact him here »
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