HiFX morning Update, March 5, 2019

The USD rose to a 10-day high against a basket of currencies as rising US treasury yields increased demand for the currency, and on optimism that a trade deal between the US and China was possible.

A report over the weekend said US president Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could reach a formal agreement at a summit around 27th March, given the progress they have made.

US construction spending fell 0.6% in December, providing further evidence the US economy lost momentum in late 2018.

Despite the above, the NZD managed to outperform across the board.

The AUD suffered yesterday after a slew of underwhelming domestic data, ahead of today’s RBA meeting and Wednesday’s key Q4 GDP release.

There is no data scheduled on the NZ calendar today. The Reserve Bank of Australia has an interest rate decision at 4:30pm today.

Global equity markets were mixed on the day - Dow -1.4%, S&P 500 -1.0%, FTSE +0.4%, DAX -0.1%, CAC +0.4%, Nikkei +1.0%, Shanghai +1.1%.

Gold prices are fell 0.8% to USD$1,285 an ounce, while WTI Crude Oil prices rose 0.3% to US$55.95 per barrel.

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