HiFX Morning Update - May 2 2016

HiFX Morning Update - May 2 2016

NZDUSD 0.6972 0.1%
NZDEUR 0.6085 -1.0%
NZDGBP 0.4775 0.0%
NZDJPY 74.15 -1.7%
NZDAUD 0.9180 0.5%
NZDCAD 0.8752 0.2%

The NZDUSD opens at 0.6972 (mid-rate) this morning.

The NZD put in a mixed performance to close out the month holding onto and extending gains against the USD, GBP and AUD while underperforming against both the JPY and the EUR.

The Weekend’s U.S. data releases disappointed with consumer sentiment, personal spending and the Chicago PMI all falling short of expectations. The consumer sentiment index for April came in at 89.0, downwardly revised from the mid-month reading of 89.7, personal spending edged up by 0.1% (expected 0.2%) in March after rising by an upwardly revised 0.2 percent in February. The Chicago PMI was also well short of expectations, slumping to 50.4 in April down from 53.6 in March.

The highlights for the NZD this week will be Wednesday morning’s Global Dairy Trade auction followed by the quarterly employment data.

Global equity markets closed out the week broadly lower - Dow -0.32%, S&P 500 -0.51%, FTSE -1.27%, DAX -2.73%, CAC -2.82%, Nikkei -3.61%, Shanghai -0.25%.

Gold prices reached their highest level in nearly a year closing out the week at $1293 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil broke up through $46 a barrel for the first time in 2016 before closing on at $45.92 on Friday.

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