The Zealand dollar rose today, but gains were limited as official data showed that China’s manufacturing growth slowed last month, damping prospects for New Zealand exports.
The China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing reported that the Purchasing Managers’ Index fell from 50.6 in December to 50.4 in January. At the same time, the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI edged up from 51.5 to 52.3. It was the rare occurrence that government data was worse than non-official estimates. The NZ dollar was gaining on hopes for a positive official report and the unexpected fall of PMI subdued the currency’s strength, but did not wipe it out completely.
NZD/USD went up from 0.8385 to 0.8405 as of 10:51 GMT today, but fell from the daily maximum of 0.8437. NZD/JPY traded at 77.47 after opening at 76.88 and touching 77.75 — the strongest rate since August 2008.
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