Daily Economic Commentary: New Zealand

[PipDiddy]

"Never ever give up, never going to let you down," was motto of the NZD/USD bulls last Friday. Even though the currency tumbled early during the Asian session, it was able to recover all of its losses thanks to the slightly positive result of the European Summit. From its day open price at .7725, NZD/USD had fallen as low as .7637 before recuperating its losses to end the day at .7753.

New Zealand's economic calendar this week presents nothing of interest, so focus instead on news events coming out from other major economies (especially those from the U.S. and euro zone developments) to determine the Kiwi's price action.

[PipDiddy]

Ooomph! Like the other high-yielding comdolls, the Kiwi tumbled sharply against the Greenback yesterday on renewed debt concerns in the euro region. NZD/USD dropped to an intraday low of .7611 before it ended the day 115 pips below its open price. Yeouch!

Too bad a better-than-expected food price index reading wasn’t enough to save the comdoll! The data clocked in a 0.2% rise in November after declining by as much as 1.3% in October.

No other report is scheduled for release in New Zealand until tomorrow, so make sure you keep an eye out for risk sentiment! Who knows, maybe you’ll get your pips worth out of the Kiwi pairs today!

[PipDiddy]

The Kiwi did what it usually does when risk aversion risk the markets… Lose! Yesterday, due to the market’s disappointment with the Fed’s interest rate decision statement, the Kiwi lost significant ground versus the safe haven dollar and the low-yielding yen. NZD/USD, for instance, closed the U.S. trading session at .7558, which was 76 pips lower from its opening price that day.

New Zealand’s economic calendar will be uneventful today as no major reports are scheduled to come out. This means that the Kiwi’s price action will be driven by data coming out of other major economies like the U.S. and the euro zone just like yesterday.

[PipDiddy]

The color red is back in fashion for the Kiwi traders, and no, it’s not because Santa Clause is coming to town! No thanks to risk aversion and disappointing economic data from New Zealand, NZD/USD ended up in the red for the third day in a row this week. The pair dropped closed with a 54-pip drop to .7504. Yikes!

The disappointing business manufacturing index was the only report that came out from New Zealand yesterday, so the Kiwi traders largely focused on risk sentiment in the markets. Of course, we all know how that played out. The comdolls got sold off across the board!

Again, no economic reports are scheduled for release today, so you might want to stay glued to the tube for any reports in the newswires that might affect risk sentiment. I hear that China is about to release some data, and that some central banks are even thinking of intervening in the markets.

Stay sharp, kiddos!

[PipDiddy]

Hooray for the Kiwi! The comdoll was able to end its losing streak against the Greenback as enjoyed a relief rally yesterday. NZD/USD opened at .7504, reached a high of .7556, then closed at .7525. Can it hold on to its recent gains and make some more?

New Zealand didn't release any economic data yesterday, which meant that the Kiwi's gains were mostly a result of an improvement in risk sentiment. It seems that traders are no longer so gloomy considering there haven't been any downbeat reports from the euro zone lately. You know what they say, no news is good news sometimes!

Since there aren't any economic reports due from New Zealand today, the Kiwi is left at the mercy of risk sentiment yet again. Unless we get another dose of disappointing news from the euro zone today, the Kiwi could have a chance to stay afloat. Good luck and happy trading!

[PipDiddy]

Whoever said comdoll trading is boring probably hasn’t seen the Kiwi’s price action last Friday! With no economic reports scheduled from New Zealand, the Kiwi bulls traded on risk sentiment and commodity price action. NZD/USD went up for the second day in a row, this time rising by 86 pips to .7611.

Thought concerns on the euro zone are still looming over the markets, it helped the Kiwi that the U.S. printed better-than-expected reports on Thursday, and that commodities like gold and silver pared some of their losses on Friday.

But will comdoll price action continue to trade in the Kiwi’s favor? Troubles in the euro zone continued to weigh on New Zealand’s Westpac consumer sentiment, dragging the data to a reading of 101.3 in the fourth quarter against the 112.0 reading the third quarter. Not only that, the NBNZ business confidence report also showed deteriorating confidence, printing at 16.9 in December after clocking in at 18.3 in November.

No other reports are due from New Zealand today, so make sure you pay attention to other reports that might influence Kiwi trading!

[PipDiddy]

NZD/USD edged lower yesterday as news of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's death caused traders to worry about military tension in the region. The pair closed a hundred pips down from its .7645 open price.

New Zealand also reported a decline in business confidence for December as the NBNZ business confidence reading fell from 18.3 to 16.9. Still, since the index is positive, it reflects optimism among businessmen in New Zealand.

The current account balance is set for release at 9:45 pm GMT today, along with the visitor arrivals data. Recall that New Zealand reported a current deficit of 0.92 billion NZD for the second quarter of this year and if we see a smaller deficit for the third quarter, the Kiwi could get a boost. Meanwhile, visitor arrivals slipped by 7.8% in October and could be in for a nice rebound in November. Stay on your toes for those reports!

[PipDiddy]

Kiwi bulls must be celebrating after seeing the Kiwi put up an excellent performance yesterday. With risk appetite urging buyers on, NZD/USD rallied 149 pips to close at .7695. Let's see if it can score back-to-back wins!

Yesterday was all about risk appetite as the markets took a break from their normally bearish ways to buy up higher-yielding assets. As such, the comdolls were in high demand and the Kiwi found itself being bought up like cray cray!

Just a few hours ago, the New Zealand current account report was released. Although it showed that its deficit widened from 0.84 billion NZD to 4.60 billion NZD (versus 3.62 billion NZD forecasts) in Q3 2011, the report doesn't seem to be weakening demand for the Kiwi.

Later today, more economic data will be available as New Zealand is set to publish its quarterly GDP report at 9:45 pm GMT. Will Q3 post a stronger growth than Q2's measly 0.1% expansion? You'll just have to tune in to find out! Look for the Kiwi to sustain its rally if results come in better than expected.

[PipDiddy]

It was a topsy-turvy day for the Kiwi as it made a strong rally during the Asian session only to erase its gains and end up lower against the Greenback. NZD/USD opened at .7695, reached a high of .7776, then closed at .7690.

It seemed that the risk rally from the other day couldn't be sustained as the Kiwi retreated from the .7750 area yesterday. The Kiwi barely even reacted to better than expected GDP figures from New Zealand, which revealed that their economy grew by 0.8% in the third quarter of 2011. This was a couple of notches higher than the estimated 0.6% reading and a huge improvement over the 0.1% uptick seen during the second quarter.

New Zealand's economic schedule is empty for the next couple of days so make sure you gauge risk sentiment properly to figure out where the Kiwi could be headed. Good luck!

[PipDiddy]

Up goes the Kiwi! After taking a break on Wednesday, the comdoll resumed its rally to snatch 32 pips away from the Greenback. As a result, NZD/USD closed at .7722 to record its fourth climb in six days. Awesome!

With stronger-than-expected GDP data giving it an early boost, it was pretty much smooth sailing for the Kiwi yesterday. As it turns out, the manufacturing and retail industries hustled last quarter to lead the way for the economy. Of course, the Rugby World Cup also had a hand in lifting economic activity during this period. When all was said and done, GDP growth rose from 0.1% in Q2 2011 to 0.8% in Q3 2011, which is 2 full percentage points better than expected. What an awesome Christmas gift, eh?

Today, it looks like we won't be getting any more reports from New Zealand. Since it's the last trading day before Christmas, there's a chance that we won't get much action today. However, it's also possible that we'll see wild moves as traders try to bag some last-minute pips before the holidays. In any case, stay flexible and be sure to manage your risk properly. Good luck and happy holidays, folks!