Sharechat Logo

NZ dollar gains as inflation comes into focus, greenback falls

Wednesday 14th February 2018

Text too small?

The New Zealand dollar gained ahead of food price and inflation expectation reports locally and US inflation data tonight while the greenback weakened against the yen and the Swiss franc.

The kiwi rose to 72.77 US cents as at 8am in Wellington from 72.62 cents late yesterday. The trade-weighted index increased to 74.77 from 74.62.

New Zealand January food prices are due out this morning after a 0.8 percent decline in the previous month which fed into weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter inflation. The Reserve Bank's quarterly survey of expectations today will show whether tepid inflation remains ingrained. Globally, US inflation data for January, out tonight, is the key focus, with the core CPI measure expected to print at 0.2 percent, down from 0.3 percent a month earlier, for a year-on-year rate of 1.7 percent (down from 1.8 percent).

"US CPI tomorrow is the next big test for a market for whom upward inflation surprises have abruptly become A Bad Thing," said Sharon Zollner, chief economist at ANZ Bank New Zealand. "One can be fairly confident that an upside surprise would not be taken well."

She said she expects NZ inflation expectations "will hold around 2 percent, but there are risks of a modest easing which would pressure this cross lower."

The kiwi traded at 92.62 Australian cents from 92.29 cents yesterday. It was little changed at 52.45 British pence and slipped to 58.91 euro cents from 59.06 cents. The kiwi was little changed at 4.5808 yuan and fell to 78.38 yen from 78.82 yen as Japan's currency strengthened against the greenback.

​(BusinessDesk)



  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

KMD - 1H FY2024 Interim Results
SCT - Resignation of Chief Executive Officer
March 19th Morning Report
SKC - APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
NWF - Chief Executive Officer Warren Koia Resignation
March 18th Morning Report
Pacific Edge Directors Give Notice of Retirement
Meridian Energy monthly operating report for February 2024
Another unworkable farming rule bites the dust
March 14th Morning Report