New Zealand dollar holds above US$0.60
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Daily Currency Update
The New Zealand dollar is slightly stronger this morning when valued against the Greenback currently trading at 0.6074 at time of writing. The NZD/USD pair holds positive ground during the early Asian session on Friday. However, the upside of the pair might be limited as firmer US September inflation lowers the odds of aggressive US Federal Reserve (Fed) cuts, which lift the Greenback. The dovish stance of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) might cap the pair’s upside in the near term. The markets bet on more aggressive easing in November. New Zealand's manufacturing sector showed higher levels of activity for September but still remained in contraction for the nineteenth straight month, a survey showed on Friday. The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ's seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) rose to 46.9 in September from a revised 46.1 in August. New orders nudged higher to 47.8 from 47.3 in the prior month. A reading above 50 indicates manufacturing activity is expanding, while anything below that threshold points to contraction. Looking ahead this week in New Zealand and today Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Governor Adrian Orr is due to speak about improving Maori access to capital, in Taupo. BusinessNZ will release the latest Performance of Services Index a survey of purchasing managers which asks respondents to rate the relative level of business conditions including employment, production, new orders, prices, supplier deliveries, and inventories. On Wednesday Statistics New Zealand will release the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the quarter.Key Movers
U.S. producer prices were unchanged in September as a small rise in the cost of services was offset by cheaper goods, pointing to a still-favorable inflation outlook and supporting views that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates again next month. The unexpected flat reading reported by the Labor Department on Friday followed data on Thursday showing consumer prices increased slightly more than expected last month. But some components that go into the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price indexes were a bit firmer, suggesting fairly warmer underlying inflation in September. The U.S. central bank tracks the PCE price indexes for its 2% inflation target. The unchanged reading in the producer price index for final demand last month followed an unrevised 0.2% gain in August, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI edging up 0.1%. Gold rallied over 1% on Friday, with the yellow metal set to end the week with modest gains of 0.20% after inflation data revealed on Friday and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on Thursday capped the Greenback’s advance. Global stocks rose on Friday, lifted by U.S. bank earnings, and on track for a weekly gain while U.S. Treasury yields were mostly lower after inflation and consumer confidence reports solidified expectations for the path of Federal Reserve rate cuts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) 409.74 points, or 0.97%, to 42,863.86, the S&P 500 (.SPX), 34.98 points, or 0.61%, to 5,815.03 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), 60.89 points, or 0.33%, to 18,342.94.Expected Ranges
- NZD/USD: 0.6000 - 0.6200 ▼
- NZD/EUR: 0.5450 - 0.5650 ▼
- GBP/NZD: 2.1250 - 2.1450 ▲
- NZD/AUD: 1.0900 - 1.1100 ▲
- NZD/CAD: 0.8250 - 0.8450 ▼