Daily Economic Commentary: New Zealand

The way the Kiwi acted on the charts last Friday got me jammin’ to some old school beats from Montell Jordan, son! “This is how we do it!” NZD/USD zoomed up from its opening price of .7539 to hit a new two-year high at .7651 before finally settling at .7524.

Kiwi bulls had a few tricks and treats up their sleeves last Friday. Though New Zealand didn’t release any data, they partied to the beat of risk appetite. That’s right! Investors were feeling confident enough to buy back riskier assets after the U.S. reported GDP growth in line with expectations.

But enough about the past, let’s look into the future!

To start the month off, New Zealand will be rolling out its quarterly labor cost index at 9:45 pm GMT. Forecasts are for a 0.5% increase in Q3 to succeed the 0.4% increase in Q2. As this report measures the change in wages and salaries paid by businesses, it can give valuable insight about future inflation. Remember, businesses usually pass on rising costs to consumers!

In the middle of the week, we take a look at employment data. According to estimates, Kiwi bulls may have further reason to rally on Wednesday at 9:45 pm GMT. Employment is expected to have grown 0.5% in Q3 after shrinking 0.3% in Q2. This increase, in turn, is expected to translate into a drop in the unemployment rate from 6.8% to 6.7%.

There you have it, kids! Now go out there and make some pips!

Kiwi’s pretty fly for a small guy, don’t you think? Thanks to a couple of bull-friendly reports, the Kiwi capped off another victory against the USD yesterday. After gapping up over the weekend and opening at .7659, NZD/USD closed at .7672. What a great start to the month!

The day started off with good news from the ANZ commodity price index, which measures the change in price of New Zealand’s exports. According to the latest release, prices jumped 3.5% in October after rising 2.8% in September. As you know, exports make up a huge portion of New Zealand’s GDP, and rising prices often signal more demand for the Kiwi.

After that, the New Zealand press released another report that helped support their currency. The quarterly labor cost index printed a 0.6% increase in wages for the third quarter of the year. This healthy figure prevented NZD/USD from sliding back down as it surpassed forecasts for a 0.5% uptick and the previous quarter’s record of a 0.4% rise. Remember, rising wages usually result in greater inflationary pressures since businesses tend to pass on rising costs to consumers.

For today, you’re probably best off monitoring risk sentiment because New Zealand won’t be printing any reports. Since the Kiwi and Aussie like to move in tandem, you may also want to check in on what Australia’s been up to. They’re due to make an interest rate statement today at 3:30 am GMT.

Good luck out there, kids!

The Kiwi joined its com-doll homies in kicking the dollar’s hiney on the charts yesterday thanks to good ole risk appetite. Rawr! Picking up where it left off on Monday, NZD/USD soared to an intraday high of .7742 before landing 43 pips higher at the day’s close at .7715.

Our economic calendar was blank for reports for the currency yesterday. But lucky for the com-doll, the RBA hollered a rate hike and got some Aussie love overflowin’ into it. See the two currencies usually move alongside each other due to the close proximity of New Zealand to Australia.

Making things even better for the Kiwi bulls were the positive reports from Europe and the anti-dollar sentiment of the market.Boo yeah!

And so, with still nothing on tap for the com-doll today, you may want to keep tabs on the market’s mood as this may dictate the currency’s fate on the charts.

Happy trading everyone!

Up, up, and away! With a lot of help from the FOMC’s decision, the Kiwi was able to stage a respectable rally yesterday. From NZD/USD’s opening price of .7715, it managed to rise all the way up to .7798.

If you think that’s amazing, just take a look at where Kiwi’s at now! Earlier today, New Zealand released a report showing that its unemployment rate dropped to 6.4% for the third quarter of this year, which is significantly lower than the 6.7% forecast and the previous quarter’s 6.9% number. The positive surprise on the employment report gave the bulls enough energy to take NZD/USD to its highest level since June 2008.

Nothing left on New Zealand’s economic cupboard for today, so we could it looks like there’s nothing to stop the Kiwi’s bullish run. Watch that .8000 handle closely, as the bulls seem to be aiming for that level!

The combination of dollar weakness and a continuous stream of positive data from New Zealand helped NZD/USD clock in its SIXTH straight win yesterday. The pair rose to .7798 by day’s end, a 150-pip climb from its opening price[B]. [/B]

As I mentioned yesterday, the labor report surprised the market when it revealed that joblessness in the country declined to 6.4% in the third quarter from the previous quarter’s 6.9%. Now, put this data side-by-side with the U.S.’s economy, and you’ll see that it is pretty clear why NZD/USD has managed to climb day after day after day.

No data coming out today, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing any action! Come 12:30 pm GMT, the U.S. will release the much-awaited NFP report. If the report fails to hit consensus, we could finally see NZD/USD hit that .8000 handle.

Oh Kiwi, you’re so fine you blow my mind! The com-doll ended the week on a good note with a 10-pip win against the Greenback at .7955, despite hitting rock-bottom at .7884 early on Friday’s trading. Doing the math, the Kiwi stacked up a total of 296 pips for the week against its counterpart. Whoa!

The lack of economic hollers left the currency at the mercy of the market’s sentiment. Aaah, and it looks like today won’t be that much different with our economic calendar containing only a third-tier economic report for the com-doll.

Later 9:45 pm GMT we’ll have the electronic card transactions report for October. A figure higher than the previous reading of 1.50% will probably be bullish for the Kiwi as this would suggest higher consumer confidence and spending.

But don’t worry, we’ll have juicier economic events to sink our trading teeth into tomorrow. You may want to keep tabs on the RBNZ Financial Stability report at 8:00 pm GMT as this as will provide insights on the bank’s view of the economic conditions in the country. Also, make sure sure you keep an ear out for RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard’s speech at 11:00 pm GMT.

We saw another case of “loose lips sink pips” on the charts when NZD/USD hit rock-bottom at .7841 after opening at its intraday high of .7940. Kiwi then ended the day at .7877, losing the most against the dollar among the com-doll homies.

 Yesterday, New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English said that the he is worried about the strength of the currency taking a toll on the economy. Ouch! And as if that wasn't enough to hurt the Kiwi, he added that the government will continue to keep spending limited. 

  Then, making things even worse for the Kiwi was the credit card transactions report which showed that consumer spending only increased by a puny 0.9% in October, following the 1.5% uptick we saw in September.

  As I said yesterday, we won’t have anything on tap for the currency until tomorrow, when the [RBNZ](http://www.babypips.com/forexpedia/RBNZ) releases its Financial Stability Report. So, you may want to make sure you gauge the [market sentiment](http://www.babypips.com/school/what-is-market-sentiment.html) first before you bet your pips on the Kiwi.

Where did all the pip-lovin’ go? The Kiwi was the biggest loser against the greenback among the comdolls yesterday on a gloomy economic report from New Zealand and a round of risk aversion in the markets. NZD/USD plummeted by a whopping 103 pips after tipping its intraday high at .7914. Yikes!

In its financial stability report released yesterday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cited the possible negative effects of a strong currency to its exports. Since the New Zealand economy is highly dependent on its exports, an expensive currency could put a damper on the economic outlook.

Will the reports today be any better for the Kiwi? The business manufacturing index will be reported today at 9:30 pm GMT, and an index number higher than September’s 49.2 might ease concerns on the economy’s growth.

The food price index for October will also be released today at 9:45 pm GMT. Food prices clocked in at 0.7% last September, so a higher figure might signal that people over in the Land of the Maoris are still hungry for those “Hangi” dishes and other food products. Yum!

Without any jawboning to knockout it out yesterday, the Kiwi was finally able to throw an uppercut on the dollar and end Wednesday 69 pips higher at .7845. Holler!

  For the first time since the week started, we didn’t hear any pessimistic remark from key officials in New Zealand yesterday which might have given traders an opportunity to focus on positive economic reports. Let’s take a look at them, shall we?

  First it was announced that manufacturing activity accelerated in October. The BNZ-Business NZ PMI printed higher at 49.7 during month than its previous reading of 49.5. Now it’s only 0.3-point shy of the 50.0 baseline figure that indicates expansion. Whoohoo!

  Statistics New Zealand also reported that price of food increased by 2.2% during the same month, following the 0.7% uptick that we saw in its  report for September. This probably got a few Kiwi bulls giddy as the increase implies stronger [FPIinflation](http://www.babypips.com/forexpedia/Inflation) pressures in the country.

  If you check out our spankin’ [economic calendar](http://www.babypips.com/tools/forex-calendar/), you’ll see that we don’t have any report left on tap for the com-doll for the rest of the week. Boo hoo! My advice for y’all planning to make some pips on the Kiwi is to make sure you gauge [market sentiment](http://www.babypips.com/school/what-is-market-sentiment.html) and keep tabs on the economic data on deck for its counterparts.

The Kiwi parked its hiney on the losers’ bench yesterday along with its com-doll homies. Thanks to risk aversion, NZD/USD tumbled to .7773 after peaking at .7874. At the end of the day, the pair settled at .7809 with the Kiwi nursing a 37-pip loss.

As I mentioned in my analysis yesterday, we don’t have anything left on our economic calendar for the Kiwi today. So consider market sentiment as your best friend coz it may just lead you to your pips. Good luck!

Ooomph! The Kiwi’s losses against the greenback last Friday was nearly as brutal as Antonio Margarito’s recent loss against Manny Pacquiao when NZD/USD went down 64 pips at .7744 even without any economic report from New Zealand.

Good thing the retail sales report released yesterday might give the Kiwi bulls a reason to counterattack this week when it published a 1.6% growth in September on improved consumer spending and employment figures from the economy.

Maybe the producer price index on Wednesday at 9:45 pm GMT will also join the party if it prints higher than the expected 0.3% growth in the third quarter after rising by 1.4% in the second quarter.

The last report this week is the credit card spending report on Friday at 2:00 am GMT. Spending by credit card rose by 4.1% last September, and a higher number for October might turn things around for the Kiwi this week.

Good luck in your trades!

While other currencies posted major losses against the Greenback, the Kiwi was actually able to stay afloat thanks to the better-than-expected results on its retail sales report. By the end of the U.S. trading session, the pair had only fallen 22 pips from its Asian session opening price.

Despite the pair’s decline last week, NZD/USD is still clearly in an uptrend on the longer time frames, particularly the daily chart. NZD/USD is currently trading just a few pips above the .7700 handle… Not bad, not bad at all!

As I mentioned yesterday, the retail sales report showed that sales grew 1.6% in September versus the 1.1% forecast. The “ex-auto” version (the one that excludes automobile sales) also showed a 1.6% increase, higher than the 1.0% initially predicted.

No data coming out from New Zealand today, so expect the Kiwi to be driven by news from other major economies, particularly the U.S.

And for the fourth straight day, the Kiwi bulls found themselves holding onto the shorter end of the stick as risk aversion made its way back into the markets. NZD/USD closed the U.S. trading session at .7676, a 48 pip loss from its Asian session opening price.

As long as Ireland’s debt problems remain the primary concern of traders, I don’t think we’ll be seeing the Kiwi climbing up the charts anytime soon.

No data scheduled for release from New Zealand during the European trading session today, but we will see the country’s PPI reports late in the U.S. trading session. The PPI Input is expected to show an uptick of 0.3% while the PPI Output is predicted to print a 0.6% rise. Figures that go above consensus are usually considered bullish for the Kiwi.

How about a round of applause for the little guy? Okay, maybe the Kiwiwasn’t exactly the markets’ version of Metroman from the movie Megamind, but it certainly achieved quite a feat yesterday! NZD/USD closed 12 pips higher at .7688 yesterday after reaching an intraday low of .7632, ending the 4-day streak of dropping in the charts. Can the Kiwi get a fist bump, at least?

Maybe New Zealand’s producer price reports helped spur on the Kiwi bulls when input prices clocked in a 0.7% growth in the third quarter, up from the expected 0.4% rise. Output prices also exceeded expectations when increased by 1.2% in the third quarter. I guess consumers couldn’t get enough of the region’s livestock and milk products, eh?

No other economic report will pop up in New Zealand today, but watch closely for any reports that might affect the Kiwi’s price action!

“[I]All right, put your hands in the air![/I]” The Kiwi did a Metro Man number yesterday when it soared against the dollar like the hero in the blockbuster hit Megamind. NZD/USD zoomed 86 pips higher than its open price at .7774 after hitting an intraday high of .7785.

Since no economic reports were released yesterday, the Kiwi traded on improved risk sentiment in the euro region and better-than-expected economic reports in the U.S., much like the price action of the other comdolls.

Today the New Zealand economy will have its chance at boosting its currency up the charts when the credit card spending report is released at 2:00 am GMT. Market seer-wannabes are pegging a 4.6% growth in October, but a higher figure might signal that consumers are more willing to spend in the economy.

Happy trading, kiddos!

The Kiwi ended the week on a high note last Friday as improved risk appetite and positive economic data spurred buyers on. From a sluggish start at .7775, NZD/USD fell to hit a low of .7747, only to bounce up and close at .7794 at the end of the day.

NZD/USD started off slowly last Friday as China decided to raise its reserve requirement ratio. The move, which is tightening in nature, caused the comdolls to dip because of its potential effects on the exports of New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. Let’s not forget, China is one of their biggest markets, and a tightening of monetary policy from the Asian giant may dry up demand for their exports.

Locally, demand has been a big concern for New Zealand as well. It has been facing anemic domestic demand in the past few months, but recently has been showing signs of a comeback. After posting a stronger-than-expected growth in retail sales in September, October followed up with a 0.6% increase in credit card spending. Though last month’s results fall below the previous month’s record of 0.9%, it accounts for the largest year-on-year rise since March this year. Not bad, eh?

The only thing noteworthy coming from New Zealand this week is Tuesday’s inflation expectations data. The report, which is released quarterly, measures the degree to which business managers expect the prices of goods and services to increase over the next two years.

The last report printed expectations of inflation at 2.6%. But should Q3’s results come in higher than this, it could provide hawks with another argument for a rate hike as expectations of future inflation have a tendency to turn into real inflation.

Look down beloooooow!!! Kiwi dropped sharply against the greenback after risk aversion and New Zealand’s disappointing economic reports took its toll on the New Zealand dollar. NZD/USD closed 61 pips lower at .7742 after plunging to an intraday low of .7695.

Aside from the markets’ risk aversion due to the euro region’s debt contagion concerns, the Kiwi was hit hard by a drop in the visitors’ arrival report from a 0.6% growth in September to a 2.0% fall in October, as well as the S&P’s downgrade of New Zealand’s credit rating outlook. Apparently, the S&P didn’t like that the country’s current account deficit remained stubbornly high. Since a debt rating downgrade would mean higher borrowing costs, the currency bears feasted on lil’ Kiwi.

Today we have the inflation expectations for the third quarter on tap at 2:00 am GMT. Word around pipsville is that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand might tighten its monetary policy again, so a figure higher than the second quarter’s 2.6% increase might motivate the bulls to push Kiwi higher in the pip charts.

Stay sharp in your trades, forex homies!

Not again! The Kiwi lost to the greenback for the second day in a row yesterday on risk aversion in markets. NZD/USD dropped by a whopping 159 pips after reaching an intraday low of .7578.

Only the inflation expectations report for the third quarter was released yesterday, and the data was almost a non-event as it printed a growth of 2.6% just as the markets expected. All eyes were on the euro region’s debt contagion concerns, as well as the catfight over in Korea, which both contributed to the risk aversion that hit comdoll trading.

No reports are scheduled for today, but keep close tabs on any reports that might further hit or support commodity-related currencies!

Booooring! We didn’t see much movement from the Kiwi yesterday. With no reports released from New Zealand, NZD/USD pretty much chilled and stayed within a tight 50-pip range, closing 22 pips higher for the day at .7607.

In the Kiwi’s case, no news is good news! Because of the lack of reports, risk sentiment continued to be the driving force behind the comdolls. Luckily, risk appetite turned up yesterday, taking the Kiwi along with it.

In other news, RBNZ Governor Bollard spoke up yesterday asking New Zealanders to start filling up their piggy banks. According to Bollard, an increase in national savings would help reduce New Zealand’s exposure to financial risks brought about by their high levels of foreign debt. He added that ultimately, an increase in savings should help the economy’s recovery in the medium-term.

Still no reports coming out today. In the meantime, keep a close eye on risk sentiment. Any new developments regarding debt concerns in the euro zone or tensions in Korea may rock the markets once again.

Pretty quiet trading on the Kiwi front, which was expected given the U.S. holiday. NZD/USD closed just 2 pips lower for the day at .7303.

Nothing coming out from New Zealand today, but watch out for any big moves as traders readjust their positions. Compared to its com-doll siblings, the Kiwi has taken a big hit this week. Will it continue to slide down the charts or is a correction in play?