HiFX Morning Update, August 1 2017

The NZDUSD opens at 0.7507 (mid-rate) this morning.

The big mover over the past 24hrs has been the EUR with better than expected economic data increasing the chances that the European Central Bank (ECB) will be in a position to wind down its quantitative easing (QE) program later in the year.

US economic data releases delivered mixed results for the USD with better than expected pending home sales countered by a larger than expected fall in the Chicago PMI.

Pending home sales for the month of June bounced back from May’s shock fall with the National Association of Realtors report showing sales were up 1.5% to 110.2 in June, after falling 0.7% to 108.6 in May. The index had been forecast to rise 1%.

The Chicago business barometer plummeted to 58.9 in July after peaking at 65.7 in June. The fall in business activity was greater than expected with economists forecasting the index to drop to 61.0. A breakdown of the data showed new orders index fell by 11.6 points to 60.3 while the production index lost 6.9 points to 60.8.

Euro-zone inflation for the month of July came in unchanged from June’s 1.3% reading according to the Eurostat flash data report. The result was in line with expectations.

Germany’s retail sales for the month of June surged 1.1% following May’s 0.5% increase. The result was well ahead of expectations with economists forecasting sales to inch up by 0.1%.

In the absence of any NZ economic data releases investors are likely to turn their attention to this afternoons Reserve Bank of Australia’s monthly monetary policy statement.

Global equity markets remain mixed - Dow +0.43%, S&P 500 +0.02%, FTSE +0.05%, DAX -0.37%, CAC -0.73%, Nikkei -0.17%, Shanghai +0.61%.

Gold prices are unchanged trading at $1,268 an ounce .WTI Crude Oil prices have edged higher, up 0.2% at $49.81 a barrel.

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