XE Morning Update

The NZDUSD opens at 0.6562 (mid-rate) this morning.

Overnight, disappointing US economic data releases have been overshadowed by reports that President Trump is considering a six-month delay in tariffs on imported autos and auto parts alongside Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's remarks that he expects trade talks with China to resume soon.

On the economic data front both US retail sales and industrial production for the month of April came up shy of economists’ estimates.

Led by a 1.1% fall in sales of motor vehicles and parts, which were down 1.1% after surging 3.2% in March, retail sales inched down 0.2% in April. Economists had forecast sales to edge up by 0.2%. Core retail sales which are closely monitored by the Fed and excludes autos, gasoline, building materials and food services came in flat following a 1.1% increase in March. Core sales had been forecast to rise by 0.7%.

According to the Federal Reserve, Industrial production for the month of April fell by 0.5% following a marginal 0.2% rise in March. Production had been forecast to come in unchanged with the dip largely reflecting a sharp pullback in utilities output, which plummeted 3.5%.

Germany’s economy expanded for the first time in three quarters in Q1, advancing 0.4% (in line with expectations) after remaining flat in Q4 and contracting 0.2% in Q3 of 2018.

Trade talk headlines are likely to continue to dominate market moves for the remaining of the week while the monthly Australian employment report will dictate direction for the NZDAUD during our trading day.

Global equity continue to push higher, - Dow +0.68%, S&P 500 +0.80%, FTSE +0.76%, DAX +0.90%, CAC +0.62%, Nikkei +0.58%, Shanghai +1.91%.

Gold prices have edged lower, down 0.2% trading at $1,295 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices continue to push higher, up 1.0% Trading at $62.30 a barrel.

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