New Zealand dollar continues to trade above US$0.60
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Daily Currency Update
The New Zealand dollar is slightly weaker this morning when valued against the Greenback currently trading at 0.6006 at the time of writing. The Kiwi dollar received pressure after the release of the Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI), gauging business activity in New Zealand’s manufacturing sector. However, the data indicated an improvement in April, with the seasonally-adjusted figure reaching 48.9 compared to March's 46.8, although still below February's 49.1. Despite the manufacturing sector being in contraction for 14 consecutive months, there are signs of improvement. Looking ahead today and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will release quarterly Inflation Expectations. Expectations of future inflation can manifest into real inflation, primarily because workers tend to push for higher wages when they believe prices will rise. BusinessNZ will release the Service 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 Tuesday Statistics New Zealand will release the latest monthly Visitor Arrivals data. Finally, on Friday we will see the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI) for the quarter.Key Movers
Last week in the United States the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in more than eight months, offering more evidence that the labor market was steadily cooling. The weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy's health, followed news last week that the economy added the fewest jobs in six months in April, while job openings dropped to a three-year low in March. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 231,000 for the week ended May 4, the highest level since the end of last August. The increase was the largest in nearly four months. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 claims in the latest week. Claims broke above the 194,000-225,000 range, which had prevailed since the start of the year. Looking ahead this week and on Tuesday we will see the release of the monthly Producer Price Index (PPI). On Tuesday we will see the release of both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and monthly Retail Sales Figures. Finally, on Thursday we have Unemployment Claims and housing data.On Friday China's consumer prices rose for a third straight month in April, while producer prices extended declines, signalling an improvement in domestic demand, as Beijing navigates challenges in its bid to shore up a shaky economy. The closely watched numbers follow better-than-expected import data for April, suggesting a flurry of policy support measures over the past several months may be helping consumer confidence. Consumer prices edged up 0.3% in April from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Saturday, versus a rise of 0.1% in March and a Reuters poll forecast for an increase of 0.2%. Core inflation, excluding volatile food and fuel prices, grew 0.7% in April, up from 0.6% in March. Overall the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.1% from the previous month, beating a forecast fall of 0.1% in the poll and reversing a drop of 1% in March.
Expected Ranges
- NZD/USD: 0.5900 - 0.6100 ▼
- NZD/EUR: 0.5450 - 0.5650 ▼
- GBP/NZD: 2.0700 - 2.0900 ▲
- NZD/AUD: 1.0850 - 1.1050 ▼
- NZD/CAD: 0.8100 - 0.8300 ▼