Central banks in focus, all eyes on RBNZ and BoE

Daily Currency Update

As widely expected the RBNZ this morning has kept the cash rate at low 1.75%, the central bank has not moved since November last year in a bid to support inflation and economic growth. They said that the outlook for growth does remain positive which is supported by the low interest rate, strong population growth and high levels of household spending and construction activity. The central bank also stated that ‘monetary policy would remain accommodative for a considerable period’, the NZD/USD dropped from 0.6939 to 0.6823 immediately as comments suggest that interest rates are unlikely to be lifted in the near-term. Governor Wheeler is due to  testify on the Monetary Policy Statement a little later this morning.

The Great British Pound remains range bound ahead of this evenings Bank of England Interest rate decision. Trading flat during the Asian session, the Sterling gained momentum to an overnight high of 1.2987 before a round of selling pressure saw intraday gains paired. Cable sits at 1.2935 on open this morning before a raft of local economic data is released in the UK this evening. Manufacturing Production leads the way before the critical BoE inflation report and Official Bank Rate is released. It is expected that interest rates will be kept on hold at the benchmark rate of 0.25%, although the GBP/USD cross could test psychological resistance at the 1.3000 handle should inflationary pressures to continue to rise. The Great British Pound opens steady against the Australian Dollar – 1.7590 and higher against the New Zealand dollar – 1.8950.



The US Dollar maintained its upward momentum through trade on Wednesday touching fresh 8 week highs against the Yen and recouping losses suffered against the Euro in the wake of the French election. The Greenback touched 8 weeks’ highs against the Japanese yen moving comfortably through 114 as Treasury Yields found support and wider risk appetite allowed investors to look outside safe haven holdings. As geopolitical tensions ease investors focus has been drawn back to underlying fundamentals and most market participants remain dollar bullish. Expectations for an uptick in domestic growth through the second half of the year and a Fed rate hike next month are driving dollar demand. The Euro moved 40 points lower throughout Wednesday touching intraday lows at 1.0854 while USD/JPY touched fresh highs at 114.35. Attentions now turn to Produce Price index numbers and unemployment claims ahead of Friday’s all important retail sales and CPI prints.