HiFX morning Update, September 3 2018

The NZDUSD opens at 0.6615 (mid-rate) this morning.

Trade talks dominated markets going into month end on Friday and are likely to continue to set the tone over the coming week.

The CAD lost ground against all is major rivals after the US and Canada failed to agree new terms of trade before the Friday deadline set by Trump. The two nations were unable to reach an agreement regarding Chapter 19, which would allow Canada to dispute punitive American tariffs on imports before binational panels.

Investors will remain focused on trade issues during the week ahead after Bloomberg reported that President Trump is poised to push ahead with plans to impose tariffs on $200b in Chinese imports possibly as early as the 6th Sep when the current public comment period expires.

Canada and China weren’t the only nations in the firing line with Trump also threatening to withdraw from the World Trade Organization. Trump described the treaty establishing the trade body was "the single worst trade deal ever made," and "If they don't shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO.”

The Australian dollar was the weakest performer on Friday with the NZDAUD cross rate pushing back above 0.9200. The AUD remains under pressure with base metal prices falling due to the escalation in US-China trade war and concerns around future consumer spending and inflation after Westpac hiked its mortgage rates earlier in the week.

European equity markets weakened on Friday, - Dow -0.09%, S&P 500 +0.01%, FTSE -1.11%, DAX -1.04%, CAC -1.30%, Nikkei -0.02%, Shanghai -0.46%.

Gold prices were unchanged on Friday closing out the month at $1,200 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices slipped lower Friday, down 1.0% to close out the month at $66.37 a barrel.

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