XE Morning Update December 12, 2019

NZDUSD 0.6571 0.4%
NZDEUR 0.5923 0.4%
NZDGBP 0.4988 0.5%
NZDJPY 71.39 0.4%
NZDAUD 0.9572 -0.3%
NZDCAD 0.8665 0.1%
GBPNZD 2.0048 -0.5%

The NZDUSD opens at 0.6571 (mid-rate) this morning.

Positioning ahead of this morning’s FOMC meeting has seen the NZD retrace yesterday’s fall and is trading close to 5-month highs against the USD.

The NZD lost ground yesterday afternoon with the government’s announcement of a $12b infrastructure spend being overshadowed by a downward revision of 2019 GDP from 3.2% to 2.4%. The government also cited fears from Brexit and the US-China trade war as major concerns for the economy going forward.

Ahead of this morning’s FOMC meeting the US Labour Department reported its consumer price index increased marginally more than expected in November with the index inching up 0.3% following a 0.4% increase in October. Economists had expected the index to edge up by 0.2%.

This morning the Fed are widely expected to keep rates unchanged with investors looking to the accompanying statement for clues as to where the Fed sees interest rates in 2020. The Fed last cut rates at their October meeting with Chair Jerome Powell describing the cut as ‘insurance’ against a blow up in trade tensions. The recent positive signs of progress in US-China trade talks along with improvements in both the labour market and inflation data are the key reasons why the Fed will likely hold.

Global equity markets remain mixed, - Dow -0.19%, S&P 500 +0.03%, FTSE +0.03%, DAX +0.58%, CAC +0.22%, Nikkei -0.08%, Shanghai +0.24%

Gold prices are up 0.5% at $1,470 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices have slipped lower, down 0.6% trading at 58.71 a barrel.

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