New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today that her country would move towards a system of coexistence with the COVID-19 virus later in the week, despite the new Omicron variant posing a new global health threat. There are no new cases of the Omicron variant in New Zealand at this stage, but the evolving […]
Tag: New Zealand
New Zealand: Arden announces imminent lifting of lockdown in Auckland
Authorities in New Zealand will lift the lockdown in the country’s largest city, Auckland, in early December, after three-and-a-half months of adopting a new strategy to tackle the covid-19 epidemic, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden said today. Ardern said that from 23:59 on December 2, New Zealand will adopt a new pandemic strategy, which […]
NZD / USD breaks below 0.7000 as investors expect a 25 basis point rate hike from the RBNZ next week
NZD / USD is down, amid broad US dollar strength across the board. COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Europe, spurring demand for safe haven assets. Fed’s Waller and Clarida: Aim for a faster QE downsizing pace so the US central bank can have some room to maneuver. Money market futures were up 25 […]
AUD / USD rises to new four-month highs above 0.7500
AUD / USD shoots to fresh four-month highs above 0.7500. The risk appetite in the market drives risk-sensitive currencies like AUD and hurts safe-havens like USD and JPY. High yields on Australian 10-year bonds propel the AUD, despite signals from the RBA not to raise rates until 2024. The AUD / USD hits fresh four-month […]
GDP breaks expectations and rises 2.8% in the second quarter compared to the 1.3% expected
Gross domestic product New Zealand GDP widely exceeded expectations in the second quarter, reaching 2.8% versus 1.3% expected. On an annual basis, it also beat expectations, rising 17.4% versus the 16.3% expected. “Because these data inform us about the historical starting point of the economy, it is the only data set that, if strong, will […]
NZD / USD breaks below 0.7100 as market sentiment takes a 180 degree turn
The NZD / USD hits a weekly low at 0.7082, amid a sudden shift in market sentiment. The dollar that ignores its losses faces most of the G8 currencies. New Zealand’s GDP is expected to hit 16.3% by the end of this week. Retail sales and initial jobless claims in the United States could weigh […]
NZD / USD reaches 0.7100 pending US inflation figures
The NZD / USD hovers around 0.7100, waiting for a new catalyst. New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern will reassess alert levels on September 20. Market sentiment is bullish, although not underpinning the NZD / USD. US CPI expected at 0.4%, excluding energy and food forecast at 0.3%. The NZD / USD it remains stable on […]
Orr says rates remain at 0.25% “for now”
“Rates remain at 0.25% ‘for now’“said the Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), Adrian Orr, when addressing the press conference following the decision of monetary politics on Wednesday. Additional comments The lockdown is a concern, but it is less of a concern than it would have been last year. The country is […]
RBNZ leaves the official cash rate unchanged at 0.25% as expected
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Monetary Policy Statement is now available. There are no published forecasts, so the RBNZ doesn’t need to be prescriptive about when rate hikes expect to start, but the keynotes are as follows: The RBNZ leaves the official cash rate unchanged at 0.25% as expected … The Monetary Policy Committee […]
First quarter GDP rises 2.4% annually, above the 0.9% forecast
The New Zealand’s Gross Domestic Product for the first quarter of 2021 grew by 2.4%, well above the 0.9% expected and -0.8% in the fourth quarter of 2020. This is the largest increase recorded since the third quarter of 2019. QoQ GDP increased 1.6% versus 0.5% forecast, after falling to -1% in the previous quarter. […]