HiFX Morning Update, August 29 2016

HiFX Morning Update, August 29 2016

NZDUSD 0.7227 -1.0%
NZDEUR 0.6462 -0.1%
NZDGBP 0.5505 -0.6%
NZDJPY 73.69 0.4%
NZDAUD 0.9551 -0.3%
NZDCAD 0.9381 -0.6%

The NZDUSD opens at 0.7227 (mid-rate) this morning.

Last week currency markets were relatively subdued as investors waited for Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s address at the Jackson Hole summit. That speech was delivered in the early hours of Saturday morning and led to a US dollar rally after Yellen gave a clear signal to the market that the Fed is moving closer to raising interest rates amid sustained improvement in the labour market. "In light of the continued solid performance of the labour market and our outlook for economic activity and inflation, I believe the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months," Yellen stated. The USD gapped higher in immediate reaction to the comments.

The news was not all good for the US, as the final GDP report for Q2 in the US showed that GDP in the US increased 1.1% in Q2 in line with expectations but downwardly revised from the previously reported 1.2%. Consumer sentiment for the month of August was also revised lower, dipping to 89.8 from an initial estimate of 90.4.

Global equity markets finished the week mixed - Dow -0.29%, S&P 500 -0.16%, FTSE +0.31%, DAX +0.55%, CAC +0.80%, Nikkei -1.18%, Shanghai +0.06%.

Gold prices were little changed on Friday closing out the week at $1,320 an ounce, WTI Crude Oil continued to edge higher on Friday up 0.6% closing on out the week at $47.64 a barrel

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