The Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, and Canadian dollar all gained on Friday as spot gold prices pushed to multi-year highs while oil held near record levels. The sole piece of economic data came from Canada, as the business conditions survey showed that sentiment regarding orders in Q4 fell negative, suggesting that manufacturers are getting nervous that the Canadian dollar’s move to parity with the US dollar in September will be to the detriment of exports.
Since then things have only gotten worse as USDCAD has pushed down to fresh 33-year lows of 0.9589. However, domestic demand in the country remains solid, and with labor markets tightening more and more every month, consumers may be able to pick up some of the slack in economy. In New Zealand, on the other hand, consumption is anticipated to have eased back in September. On Sunday, the New Zealand trade deficit is expected to narrow on the back of softer imports and a gain in exports, as the RBNZ’s aggressive tightening cycle cuts into household spending while the relative easing in the Kiwi reinvigorates demand for the country’s goods.