HiFX morning Update, October 30, 2018

NZDUSD 0.6525 0.0%
NZDEUR 0.5735 0.2%
NZDGBP 0.5101 0.4%
NZDJPY 73.35 0.7%
NZDAUD 0.9236 0.4%
NZDCAD 0.8567 0.4%
GBPNZD 1.9604 -0.4%

The NZDUSD opens at 0.6525 (mid-rate) this morning.

The NZD has had a good start to the trading week, holding its own against the USD while trading marginally higher against its other counterparts.

Earlier this morning the US Commerce Department reported personal income in the US inched up 0.2% in September following on from August’s upwardly revised 0.4% increase. Economists had expected Septembers income growth to match August’s previously reported 0.3% rise.

The EUR slipped lower against the majors after German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced she would be stepping down as leader of the centre-right CDU party in December, and that she would not seek re-election as chancellor when her term expires in 2021. The announcements were made after the CDU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), both parties under Merkel's ruling coalition suffered heavy losses in a regional election over the weekend.

Overnight the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond upgraded the UK’s growth forecasts while delivering his final 2018 budget. Mr Hammond upgraded his 2019 growth forecast from the 1.3% made in March to 1.6%. The Chancellor also expects an increase in wage growth over the next five years which should lead to interest rate hikes from the Bank of England. The announcements have had little effect on the GBP with investors waiting to see if the UK can manage to negotiate a soft Brexit over the coming weeks.

Global equity markets are mixed, - Dow +0.45%, S&P 500 +0.73%, FTSE +1.25%, DAX +1.20%, CAC +0.44%, Nikkei -0.16%, Shanghai -2.18%.

Gold prices pushed lower overnight, down 0.6% trading at $1,226 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil have prices edged lower, down 0.5% currently trading at $67.43 a barrel.

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