During local trade the New Zealand Dollar was able to extend recent gains against its American counterpart, briefly achieving 82.10 US cents after advancing by 1.8 per cent in the last two days – its most significant bound for eight months.
The New Zealand Dollar exchange rate was trading in the region of 0.8179 against the US Dollar as of 10:00 am GMT
The currency was supported by several factors, including New Zealand’s latest credit card spending report. In March credit card spending declined by 0.3 per cent but in April it experienced a rebound, climbing by 0.4 per cent month-on-month. Year-on-year spending was up 4 per cent.
Separate data compiled by Statistics New Zealand also showed that the number of nationals migrating to Australia eased to its smallest monthly deficit for nearly three years. Inbound migration was up overall.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s financial institution’s scaled back their forecasts for local inflation from 1.68 to 1.52 per cent for the coming year. As this result met expectations it caused little ‘Kiwi’ reaction.
The NZD/USD pairing was additionally bolstered by the anticipation surrounding Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s upcoming testimony regarding US fiscal policy.
With some industry experts predicting that the Fed may still refrain from stepping down its current easing programme until the end of the year (despite the recent stream of positive US data) the US Dollar has faltered over the last couple of days.
According to one Auckland-based currency strategist; ‘We’ve had a big run up in the US Dollar, a small reversal, and now its wait and see for Bernanke. If Bernanke talks down the chance of unwinding quantitative easing, or even if he says nothing and sticks to the status quo, the Kiwi could get a look at 82.50m but I’m not looking beyond that.’
The publication of minutes from the Fed’s latest policy meeting (scheduled for 19:00 GMT tomorrow) will also be a significant cause of market volatility.
Current New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Exchange Rates:
< Down > Up
The New Zealand Dollar/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8179 >
The New Zealand Dollar /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6344 >
The New Zealand Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5377 >
The New Zealand Dollar /Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8339 >
The US Dollar/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.2238 <
The Pound Sterling/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.8618 <
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5753 <
The Australian Dollar/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1987 <
The Canadian Dollar/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1900 <
(Correct as of 10:00 GMT)
Comments are closed.