HiFX morning Update June 21 2018
The NZDUSD opens at 0.6861 (mid-rate) this morning.
Yesterday’s current account data showing a slowdown in international trade is likely to have weighed on the economy. As of this morning consensus suggests markets are predicting our economy to have grown at a rate of 0.5% during Q1 with an annual rate of growth of 2.7%, this follows on from Q4 when our economy grew at 0.6% with an annual growth rate of 2.9%.
Earlier this morning the National Association of Realtors reported existing home sales Unexpectedly declined in May. The report showed sales were down 0.4% to an annual rate of 5.43m, the result came as a surprise with forecasts predicting a slight rise in sales following on from April’s 2.7% fall.
A larger than expected fall in US oil inventories has seen oil prices rise. The US Energy Information Administration reported crude supplies dropped by 5.9m barrels for the week ended June 15. Economists had expected supplies to fall by 3.7m barrels.
Overnight tonight, both the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of England are expected to leave their OCR’s unchanged leaving the tone of the accompanying statements to dictate direction.
Global equity markets are broadly higher- Dow +0.05%, S&P 500 +0.04%, FTSE +0.31%, DAX +0.14%, CAC -0.34%, Nikkei +1.24%, Shanghai +0.27%
Gold prices continue to edged lower, down 0.5% trading at $1,270 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices have pushed higher, up 2.1% trading at $66.11 a barrel.
ends