HiFX Morning Update, April 30 2018

HiFX Morning Update, April 30 2018

The NZDUSD opens at 0.7082 (mid-rate) this morning.

US economic growth continues to slow, but not as fast as economists had predicted. On Friday the Commerce Department announced GDP increased by 2.3% in Q1 following on from a 2.9% jump in Q4. Economists had forecast Q1 GDP to slow to 2.0%.

Consumer Sentiment in the US deteriorated by less than initially forecast in the month of April, with the University of Michigan reporting their sentiment index fell to 98.8 in April after recording a reading of 101.4 in March. Earlier in the month economists had predicted the index to fall to 98.0.

The British Pound weakened further on Friday after both Q1 GDP and consumer sentiment fell short of economists’ forecasts. The Office for National Statistics reported Gross domestic product grew only 0.1% in Q1 after expanding 0.4% in Q4. GDP had been expected to rise by 0.3%, while the consumer sentiment index, which had been expected to remain at -7 fell to -9 in April.

The main domestic driver for the NZD this week will be Wednesday’s quarterly employment report while on the international front both the RBA and the Federal Reserve are expected to keep their OCR’s unchanged with the tone of their statements set to dictate direction.

Global equity markets with the exception of the Dow pushed higher on Friday, - Dow -0.05%, S&P 500 -0.11%, FTSE +1.09%, DAX +0.64%, CAC +0.54%, Nikkei +0.66%, Shanghai +0.23%.

Gold prices edged higher on Friday up 0.4%, closing out the week at $1,321 an ounce down 1.1% on the week. WTI Crude Oil prices inched lower on Friday, down 0.4% to close out the week at $67.98 a barrel.

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