Australian and New Zealand Dollars Extend Gains, Canadian Dollar Breaks Down

The Australian and New Zealand dollars ended the week not far from their year to date highs despite mixed economic data and softer gold prices.

New Zealand retail sales weakened in December, providing evidence that the economy is slowing more quickly than its Western neighbor. A lot of economic data has been released from Australia and New Zealand over the past few days so it is surprising that next week’s economic calendar is almost completely devoid of Australian or New Zealand data. Instead, the market’s focus will be on the Canadian dollar, which sold off aggressively today. We expect volatility in the pair to continue with consumer prices, international securities transactions, leading indicators and retail sales scheduled for this coming week.