HiFX Morning Update, October 9, 2017

HiFX Morning Update, October 9, 2017

The NZDUSD opens at 0.7061 (mid-rate) this morning.

The NZD is lower on the open after the result of the general election was finalised on Saturday. Political uncertainty is weighing heavily on the currency as investors wait to see which of the major political parties New Zealand First will side with.

A mixed September US employment report led to a spike in volatility late on Friday night. The storms that hit the US had a greater impact on the jobs report than economists had forecast, with non-farm payroll employment declining by 33k jobs in September after increasing by an upwardly revised 169k jobs in August. Economists had forecast jobs to increase by 82K. On a better note the report showed the unemployment rate fell to 4.2% in September, down from 4.4% in August, while wage growth increased by 2.9% y/y, following on from August’s 2.5% y/y increase.

We expect a slow start to the week in the absence of any local data releases and the US, Japan and Canada enjoying a long weekend.

Global equity markets closed out the week mixed - Dow -0.01%, S&P 500 -0.1%, FTSE +0.20%, DAX -0.09%, CAC -0.36%, Nikkei +0.30%, Shanghai Closed.

Gold prices edged higher on Friday, up 0.5% closing out the week at $1,275 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil prices plummeted on Friday, down 2.6% closing out the week at $49.29 a barrel, for a weekly loss of 4.6%.

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