The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars were all up strongly today with New Zealand retail sales being the story of the night. Consumer spending was originally expected to drop by 0.2 percent, but instead, it increased by 1.3 percent in March.
This was the strongest rise since 1995. The low level of unemployment has cushioned any pain that the country may have felt from interest rates and this could lead to kiwi strength throughout the week. Australian data did not fare as well however with home loans and investment lending both falling short of expectations. There are no Australian or New Zealand data due for release tonight. Canada only has new motor vehicle sales and manufacturing shipments. The strength of the CAD today suggests that the market may be expecting stronger numbers.