The Australian Dollar may have been trapped in a bearish relationship with the Pound overnight, but it was a different story for the neighbouring ‘Kiwi’.
The New Zealand Dollar to Pound Sterling exchange rate was trading in the region of 0.5075 as of 10:00 GMT
The New Zealand Dollar consolidated and extended gains against rivals like the Pound despite the release of slightly disappointing Chinese manufacturing figures.
China’s flash manufacturing PMI for December eased down from 50.8 in November to 50.5 in December, but Markit economist Hongbin Qu offered this rather optimistic response; ‘The December HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI reading slowed marginally from November’s final reading. But it still stands above the average reading for 3Q, implying that the recovering trend of the manufacturing sector starting from July still holds up’.
The New Zealand Dollar remained supported during local trading thanks to the release of stronger-than-anticipated domestic data. The Westpac measure of consumer confidence in the region advanced from 115.4 to 120.1 in the fourth quarter, achieving a four-year high.
An index documenting the expectation of further improvement also advanced, rallying from 9.6 to 12.1.
These results support the case for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raising interest rates early next year (as was implied in the central bank’s latest policy meeting).
In response to the data Westpac’s chief economist commented; ‘With the construction sector ramping up, jobs on the rise, house and share prices soaring, and dairy prices sky high, we would have been surprised to see otherwise. Households haven’t been this positive about their own finances, or optimistic for the wider economy, in many years. If any more evidence was needed that the New Zealand economy is picking up, this is it.’
The NZD/GBP exchange rate hit a low of 0.5058 pence per Dollar
Although a separate report showed that the nation’s performance of services index declined from a negatively revised 57.7 to 56.3 in November the New Zealand Dollar retained gains against peers like the ‘Greenback’, Pound, Euro and ‘Aussie’ as local trading came to a close.
The NZD/GBP pairing remained higher following the publication of UK housing data. The Rightmove report showed a 1.9 per cent month-on-month decline in UK house prices in December.
Tomorrow UK inflation data is likely to be the main cause of NZD/GBP volatility, although investors will also be looking ahead to New Zealand’s current account, business confidence and activity outlook reports.
Current New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Exchange Rates:
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The New Zealand Dollar/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8258 <
The New Zealand Dollar /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6014 >
The New Zealand Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5075 >
The New Zealand Dollar /Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.9257 >
The US Dollar/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.2083 <
The Pound Sterling/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.9733 <
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6614 <
The Australian Dollar/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0809 <
The Canadian Dollar/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1422 >
(Correct as of 10:00 GMT)
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