AUD/NZD Exchange Rate Up after Yesterday’s Positive Home Loan Figures
The Australian Dollar to New Zealand Dollar (AUD/NZD) exchange rate is up today, and is currently trading at NZD$1.0478, after yesterday’s release of positive Australian home loan figures for October.
Yesterday additionally saw the release of October’s investment lending for homes figures which also showed an increase by 0.6% against last month’s -2.8%.
The New Zealand Dollar, meanwhile, took a hit from the release of November’s electronic card retail sales figures, which showed a decrease.
Both AUD and NZD have been affected by the arrest of China’s Meng Wanzhou, the Chief Financial Officer for Huawei, which has escalated US-China trade tensions and thrown both currencies into a state of ‘risk-off’ volatility.
AUD/NZD Exchange Rate Rises despite Increased Geopolitical Tensions
The Australian Dollar (AUD), however, was weakened today by the release of the Q3 house price index which decreased by -1.5% against last month’s 0.7%.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its latest in-depth assessment of the Australian economy commented on the housing market, warning that the country needed to prepare ‘contingency plans for a severe collapse in the housing market’ that may lead to a ‘crisis situation’ in the Australian economy.
These were followed by the release of the National Bank of Australia’s business confidence figures for November which showed a decrease, further dampening market sentiment in the Australian economy.
Later on today will see the release of the Westpac consumer confidence figures for December, with ‘Aussie’ investors paying close attention for any increase ahead of the holiday season.
New Zealand Dollar to Australian Dollar (NZD/AUD) Exchange Rate Down as Wanzhou Arrest Increases Risk
The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) was bolstered by today’s publication of the ANZ monthly inflation gauge for November, which increased by 0.6% against last month’s -0.4%.
Later on today will see the Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Adrian Orr, deliver a speech, with ‘Kiwi’ investors paying close attention to any comments about New Zealand’s economic situation.
The release of New Zealand’s food price index will happen tomorrow, with any signs of an increase hitting consumers in the pocket.
Both NZD and AUD have been struggling from investors’ increased risk-aversion, with the arrest of Meng Wanzhou igniting US-China tensions once again.
Referring to the supposed 90-day trade truce between the two nations, US trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, commented:
‘As far as I am concerned it is a hard deadline. When I talk to the president of the United States he is not talking about going beyond March … The way this is set up is that at the end of 90 days, these tariffs will be raised.’
AUD/NZD Outlook: US-China Trade Relations Remain in Focus
The Australian Dollar to New Zealand Dollar (AUD/NZD) exchange rate is likely to be driven by political forces this week, with increasing global trade tensions heightening risk-aversion.
Thursday, meanwhile, will see the release of Australia’s consumer inflation expectation figures for December, with any signs of an increase bolstering the chances of a rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
This will also be followed by an RBA bulletin on the same day, with investors paying close attention to any signs of a deflating Australian economy.
The ‘Kiwi’ meanwhile will be sensitive to the release of Thursday’s Business NZ PMI with any increase likely bolstering confidence in NZD.
Comments are closed.