HiFX Morning Update, August 8 2016

HiFX Morning Update, August 8 2016

NZDUSD 0.7135 -0.6%
NZDEUR 0.6437 -0.02%
NZDGBP 0.5455 -0.2%
NZDJPY 72.81 0.3%
NZDAUD 0.9375 -0.3%
NZDCAD 0.9405 0.7%

The NZDUSD opens at 0.7135 (mid-rate) this morning.

A much stronger than expected non-farm payroll out of the US on Friday saw the USD surge higher against all its major rivals. The Labour Department report, released late on Friday night showed non-farm payroll employment in the US increased by 255k jobs well ahead of the expected 180k jobs in the month of July. There were also upward revisions totalling 18k jobs to the May and June reports. The increase in jobs did not however lead to a fall in unemployment, with the report showing the unemployment rate remained at 4.9%, economists had expected it to edge down to 4.8%.

In stark contrast to the US report, Canada’s employment data came in well below expectations shedding 31.2k jobs in the month of July, it was the biggest monthly fall in almost 5 yrs, economists had been expecting an increase of 10.2k jobs.

The week ahead for the NZD will be dominated by Thursday’s RBNZ rate statement, with a 25bp cut all but priced in.

Global equity markets closed out the week broadly higher - Dow +1.04%, S&P 500 +0.86%, FTSE +0.79%, DAX +1.36%, CAC +1.49%, Nikkei 0.00%, Shanghai -0.19%.

Gold prices fell sharply on Friday losing 2.0% following the US jobs data to close at $1,335 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil closed out the week unchanged at $41.80 a barrel

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