NZ dollar gains as Fed rumoured to slow pace of rate hikes

Thursday 22nd November 2018

The New Zealand dollar gained after a report that the Federal Reserve might stop hiking interest rates as early as March weighed on the greenback.

The kiwi rose to 68.36 US cents as at 8am in Wellington from 67.96 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 74.58 from 74.28.

The US dollar index slipped 0.2 percent after a report by newswire MNI said the Fed may pause its tightening cycle as early as the Northern Hemisphere spring due to slowing global growth. US data showed flat capital goods orders in October, falling short of expectations, while the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development trimmed 0.2 percentage points from its forecast for global growth due to the burgeoning trade war between the US and China.

"The USD weakened after the release of the above (MNI) report, although we wouldn’t consider the market reaction as significant, and it simply confirms what the market has been thinking," Bank of New Zealand senior markets strategist Jason Wong said in a note.

Investors also took some heart from news that White House trade advisor Peter Navarro won't attend a meeting between US President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping this month. Navarro has been outspoken in his criticism of Chinese trade practices. Wall Street gained ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.7 percent.

Local data today include October travel and migration.

The kiwi rose to 60.01 euro cents from 59.73 cents yesterday after the European Union said Italy's budget was in serious non-compliance and took the first step to impose penalties and fines on the bloc member.

The local currency increased to 53.45 British pence from 53.12 pence yesterday and traded at 94.08 Australian cents from 93.94 cents. It rose to 77.27 yen from 76.60 yen yesterday and advanced to 4.7352 Chinese yuan from 4.7198 yuan.

(BusinessDesk)

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