HiFX morning Update, March 13, 2019

NZDUSD 0.6867 0.7%
NZDEUR 0.6080 0.2%
NZDGBP 0.5248 1.0%
NZDJPY 76.39 0.7%
NZDAUD 0.9695 0.3%
NZDCAD 0.9179 0.3%
GBPNZD 1.9055 -1.0%

The NZDUSD made gains overnight as the USD slipped after tame US inflation data supported the US Fed’s ‘patient’ stance on further interest rate hikes.

US CPI (consumer price index) rose a modest 0.2% in February, while the ‘core’ CPI (which excludes volatile food and energy components) edged up 0.1% - the smallest rise in August 2018. The annual CPI gain was 1.5%, which is the smallest rise in nearly 2 ½ years.

US-China trade talks continue to make headway, although a final agreement, assuming they get one, is still weeks away.

The GBP fell in volatile trading after the UK’s attorney general said, despite ‘binding’ assurance from EU, Britain could still be permanently locked into the Northern Ireland ‘backstop’.

The UK parliament has just voted down Prime Minister May’s Brexit latest withdrawal agreement. They will now have another vote on Wednesday on whether to leave the EU without a deal. If that fails, parliament will vote on Thursday on whether to extend the Brexit deadline – more fun and games!

Yesterday’s Australian Home Loans and Business Confidence data disappointed, which helped nudge the NZDAUD towards the 0.9700 level.

NZ Food Price Index hits the wires at 10:45am today – not likely to be a market-over.

Global equity markets were mostly higher on the day - Dow -0.2%, S&P 500 +0.5%, FTSE +0.3%, DAX -0.2%, CAC +0.1%, Nikkei +1.8%, Shanghai +1.1%.

Gold prices gained 0.6% to USD$1,299 an ounce, while WTI Crude Oil prices rose 0.3% to US$56.74 per barrel.

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