HiFX Morning Update July 9, 2018

The NZDUSD opens at 0.6838 (mid-rate) this morning.

There was little negative market reaction on Friday to the news that the US was going ahead with tariffs on $34bn of Chinese goods or that China had immediately retaliated by imposing a similar 25% tariff on 545 US products - also worth a total of $34bn.

Global equity markets along with risk-linked currencies actually pushed higher on the announcement, in what was a clear example of sell the rumour buy the fact.

The USD pushed lower later in the day following the release of the mixed jobs report, although the Labour Department non-farm payroll report showed employment spiked by 213k jobs in June after jumping up by an upwardly revised 244k jobs in May, unemployment for the same period also unexpectedly ticked up. The unemployment rate in the US which had be expected to remain at 3.8% increased to 4% with the USD falling following the data release.

Germany’s Industrial output increased 2.6% month-on-month in May reversing a revised 1.3% fall in April. The result was well ahead of the forecast 0.3% increase and represents the biggest expansion in 6-months.

News that the UK’s PM Theresa May had gained cabinet support for a pro-business plan which includes a free trade area for industrial and agricultural goods, based on a "common rule book" and a "combined customs territory" has seen the pound gap higher this morning.

Markets this week are likely to be dominated by trade war talks with little in the way of local data releases.

Global equity markets pushed higher on Friday, - Dow +0.41%, S&P 500 +0.85%, FTSE +0.19%, DAX +0.26%, CAC +0.18%, Nikkei +1.12%, Shanghai +0.49%.

Gold prices edged lower on Friday down 0.2% closing out the week at $1,254 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices fell circa 2% on Friday, to close out the week at $71.57 a barrel

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