HiFX morning Update, September 18 2018

The NZDUSD opens at higher at 0.6577 this morning.

The USD and global equity markets both fell as the markets prepared themselves for more US-China trade tensions. The NZDUSD gained a little ground as the USD weakened, in what was a relative quiet overnight session.

The GBP made further gains on optimism that the UK will reach a deal on the terms of its departure from the European Union. It was reported the Brexit talks were being held in spirit of “good cooperation” – this was after the IMF (International Monetary Fund) Managing Director said that failure to get a deal would make the UK economy shrink.

A Reuters poll of 10 NZ economists is predicting NZD Q2 GDP, scheduled for release Thursday, to come it at +0.7%, up from 0.5% in Q1. This is expected to be driven by recovery in agricultural production and exports, although deteriorating business confidence may start to negatively impact growth.

There is no data on domestic data calendar today. Early Wednesday morning Fonterra will hold its Global Dairy Trade auction.

Global equity markets were down on the day - Dow -0.3%, S&P 500 -0.5%, FTSE -0.0%, DAX -0.2%, CAC -0.1%, Nikkei closed, Shanghai -1.1%.

Gold prices are rose 0.7% to USD$1,201 an ounce, while WTI Crude Oil prices lost 0.4% to US$68.70 per barrel.

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