NZ Dollar Declines From New Multi-day Highs Against Most Majors
The New Zealand dollar shed its initial strength on Wednesday morning in Asia despite most of Asia-pacific stocks staged a rally. The New Zealand currency thus eased from fresh multi-day highs against most of them.
The New Zealand stock market opened higher today after traders got a positive lead from Wall Street, where U.S. stocks closed higher overnight following reports that the European Union was preparing a financial support plan for debt-laden Greece.
The benchmark NZX 50 index added 24.01points or 0.78% to 3,100.46 shortly after the market opened in the morning. Meanwhile, the broader NZX All Capital index collected 24.30 points or 0.78% to be at 3,133.05.
The New Zealand dollar that advanced to a 6-day high of 1.9802 against the euro by 5:30 pm ET Tuesday reversed its course thereafter. The domestic unit declined to 1.9863 against the euro around 10:25 pm ET and the pair is presently trading at 1.985. At Tuesday’s North American close, the euro-kiwi pair was worth 1.9830.
The kiwi also pared gains after hitting a 6-day high against the Japanese yen. The New Zealand dollar drifted lower to 62.14 against the yen around 10:25 pm ET Tuesday from 62.72 hit earlier in the session. The kiwi-yen pair that was worth 62.48 at Tuesday’s New York session close is currently quoted at 62.26.
An index measuring domestic corporate goods prices in Japan was up 0.3 percent in January compared to the previous month, the Bank of Japan said today. That was higher than analyst expectations for a 0.1 percent increase following the revised flat reading in December. On an annual basis, the corporate goods price index was down 2.1 percent.
Core machinery orders in Japan spiked 20.1 percent in January compared to the previous month, the Cabinet Office said today. That was sharply higher than analyst expectations for an 8.0 percent monthly gain following the record low 11.3 percent contraction in November. On an annual basis, orders were down 1.5 percent.
The New Zealand dollar steadied after hitting a 2-day high against the Australian dollar in the session. The New Zealand dollar that rose to 1.2615 against the aussie around 6:40 pm ET Tuesday is currently quoted at 1.2622. The aussie-kiwi pair was worth 1.2632 at Tuesday’s close.
Consumer confidence in Australia declined in February for the third time in four months, according to survey results published today by Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute. The group’s consumer sentiment index declined 2.6 percent to a reading of 117 points.
The New Zealand dollar that climbed to a 6-day high of 0.6972 against the US dollar by 8:25 pm ET edged slightly lower to 0.6932 after 2 hours. The kiwi-buck pair is presently quoted at 0.6940, compared to 0.6965 hit late New York Tuesday.
Traders are now looking forward to the European session, in which the French current account and industrial production reports-both for the month of December are expected.
The U.S. trade balance report for December and monthly budget statement for January that are due out from the North American session may influence markets today.
Also, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser is scheduled to deliver a speech at 12:45 PM ET.
