Daily Economic Commentary: New Zealand

[PipDiddy]

That’s what you call ending the week with a bang! The Kiwi soared higher on Friday, as risk appetite was still rampant in the markets. This helped NZD/USD close at .8189, up a solid 48 pips on the day!

Despite worse-than-expected advance U.S. GDP figures that caused equity markets to give back some of their gains, the New Zealand dollar was able to hold its head up high and keep most of its gains. Will we see more of the same today or will it start off the week on a sour note?

Later today at 9:45 pm GMT, building consents data will be available. Looking back, we can see that consents actually dropped by 6.4% last November. Take note, obtaining permits is the first step into the actual construction of a building. If we see another drop in December, it would signal some weakness in the construction sector, and could lead to some Kiwi losses late today.

[PipDiddy]

Uh oh. It looks like the Kiwi's flight up the charts is running out of fuel! NZD/USD opened at what turned out to be its intraday high at .8239 and dropped to a low of .8156. Before the day's close, the pair settled at .8189.

We didn't have any report from New Zealand yesterday which left the currency vulnerable to the negative vibes brought about by the disappointing EU Summit.

I wonder if the positive building reports that was released earlier will be enough to spur the Kiwi into a rally. It was reported that the number of new building approvals in the country grew by 2.1% in December and erased part of the 6.2% decline that we saw in November.

Oh, before I forget! Be sure to also keep tabs on the economic data we have from the U.S. today as they would probably have an impact on the Kiwi's fate on the charts. Good luck!

[PipDiddy]

And the uptrend continues! The New Zealand dollar bounced back yesterday and posted a 66-pip victory versus the dollar, hitting its highest level in four months. Is there no stopping the Kiwi?

The rally in the Kiwi had more to do with overall USD weakness as opposed to actual strength in the New Zealand dollar. We can probably expect risk sentiment to dictate Kiwi trading once again, as no hard data will be released today. Make sure you drop by the rest of my commentaries so you know what could serve as a catalyst in the markets! Good luck trading homies!

[PipDiddy]

Aaah, there’s nothing like the positive vibes to get the Kiwi hustlin’ up the charts. Thanks to overall risk appetite yesterday, NZD/USD was able to close 60 pips above its opening price at .8316.

We didn’t get any economic report from New Zealand. However, positive news were aplenty from China and the euro zone yesterday. Because the regions are two of New Zealand’s major trading partners, good news for them also boosted the Kiwi.

Our forex calendar is once again blank for reports from New Zealand today, so it might be a good idea to keep tabs on market sentiment. If risk appetite is sustained, we’ll likely see the currency rally once more!

[PipDiddy]

With the non-farm payrolls just around the corner, NZD/USD was unable to pick a direction yesterday. The currency pair simply moved sideways and traded within a very tight 50-pip. NZD/USD ended the U.S. trading session at .8333, merely 14 pips higher from its opening price.

No major report was released in New Zealand yesterday and none are scheduled again today. This means that the Kiwi's price action will be driven mostly by the results of the U.S. labor data later. Pay special attention to the non-farm payrolls, as better-than-expected figures could trigger another risk rally and push the Kiwi higher.

[PipDiddy]

Thanks to the pick up in risk appetite, the Kiwi was able to rally to its 21-week high against the dollar on Friday. NZD/USD consolidated below where it opened for the most part of the day but traded higher during the New York session. By the day's close, the pair had settled 28 pips above its opening price at .8361.

Our forex calendar was blank for reports from New Zealand but the positive NFP data from the U.S. sparked enough positive vibes to give higher-yielding currencies a boost. We still don't have any economic data scheduled for the Kiwi today as New Zealand banks are on a holiday in celebration of Waitangi Day.

However, we do have a couple to top-tier reports from the euro zone that could affect market sentiment in today's trading. Be sure you keep tabs on them, ayt?

[PipDiddy]

Because of the bank holiday in New Zealand, NZD/USD price action was pretty much dead. The pair opened the Asian trading session at .8348, moved in very tight 60-pip range, and ended the day barely changed at .8341.

The pair got a small boost earlier today though. The country’s labor cost index was released and it came in with a 0.7% increase. It was a welcome improvement from last month’s 0.5% gain and better than forecast.

New Zealand’s economic cupboard has nothing in store for us today, so NZD/USD’s price action will probably be contained within a tight range again today.

[PipDiddy]

Despite the lack of economic reports released in New Zealand, NZD/USD joined its other comdoll buddies and rose in the charts yesterday. The pair even reached an intraday high at .8374 before capping the day 14 pips higher than its open price. Not bad, eh?

Risk appetite and expectations of a Greek deal by the end of the week supported demand for the Kiwi for most of the day yesterday, but it doesn’t mean that you should completely tune out events in New Zealand!

At 9:45 pm GMT today we’ll get hold of the country’s employment reports, and word on the street is that its unemployment rate will slip by 0.1% and clock in at 6.5% for the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, many also expect that an additional 0.4% were hired in the same quarter. If the data hugely disappoints expectations, then we might just see the Kiwi slip by a bit!

Don’t even think of missing this report!

[PipDiddy]

That was quite a wild ride! After trading quietly during the entire Asian and morning European trading session, NZD/USD burst into life once the U.S. session started. It had rallied strongly at first to test the .8400 major psychological level only to fall quickly after and return to where it began that day. Overall, the pair found itself only 8 pips lower.

Earlier today, New Zealand released a very mixed employment report. The unemployment rate, which measures the percentage of people who wants a job but can’t find one, fell to 6.3% from 6.6%. The employment change came in disappointingly and only showed a 0.1% gain, lower than both the forecast and the previous quarter’s figure.

No major news event scheduled to happen in New Zealand today, so the Kiwi will get most of its price action cues from events that will occur in other major economies such as the U.S. and the euro zone. The ECB’s interest rate decision could play a pivotal role in the Kiwi’s direction today.

[PipDiddy]

Oomph! The Kiwi received a blow against the Greenback yesterday when risk aversion controlled the currencies’ price action. NZD/USD ended up closing with a 13-pip loss after reaching an intraday high of .8382.

No economic report was released from New Zealand yesterday, but the Kiwi bears were fired up when interest rate decisions as well as mixed reports from the euro zone weren’t enough to soothe investor concerns.

Traders even shrugged off New Zealand’s unemployment rate, which fell from 6.6% to 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Hmm, maybe it’s because the rate fell due to workers leaving the labor pool instead of them finding jobs? The unemployment change only showed a 0.1% growth in the quarter, after all.

No other report is scheduled for release today, so you might want to pay attention to reports from the euro zone and the U.S. I hear we’ll see tons of market-moving reports today!