NZ Dollar Falls On Larger-than-expected Trade Deficit
27 February 2018 - 12:56PM
RTTF2
The New Zealand dollar slipped against its major opponents in
the Asian session on Tuesday, after a data showed that the nation's
trade deficit widened than forecast in January.
Data from Statistics New Zealand showed that New Zealand had a
merchandise trade deficit of NZ$566 million in January.
That missed expectations for a flat reading following the NZ$596
million shortfall in December.
Exports were up 9.5 percent on year, while imports rose 17
percent.
Investors look forward to Congressional testimony by the new
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later in the day.
Powell will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives'
Financial Services Committee, which will be keenly watched for
further insight on inflation and interest rates.
The kiwi declined to a 4-day low of 0.7274 against the
greenback, compared to Monday's closing value of 0.7302. The kiwi
is likely to find support around the 0.70 level.
The kiwi that ended Monday's trading at 78.05 against the yen
dropped to 77.79. If the kiwi drops further, 1.25 is possibly seen
as its next support level.
The kiwi slipped to 1.6944 against the euro, its weakest since
February 14. The next possible support for the kiwi is seen around
the 1.71 mark.
The NZ currency weakened to near a 2-week low of 1.0786 against
the aussie and held steady thereafter. The pair closed Monday's
deals at 1.0751.
Weekly survey compiled by the ANZ bank and Roy Morgan Research
showed that Australia's consumer confidence improved during the
week ended February 25.
The consumer confidence index rose 2.3 percent to 117.9 from
115.3 in the preceding week.
Looking ahead, Eurozone M3 money supply for January and economic
confidence index for February are set for release in the European
session.
At 5:00 am ET, Deutsche Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann
speaks about the Bundesbank's Annual Report in Frankfurt.
German preliminary CPI for February is scheduled for release at
8:00 am ET.
In the New York session, U.S. durable goods orders and wholesale
inventories for January, S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for
December and consumer confidence index for February are due.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify on the
Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the House Financial
Services Committee in Washington DC at 10:00 am ET.
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