Macroeconomic data released in New Zealand today was unfavorable to the New Zealand dollar. Yet the currency managed to rise nonetheless, likely boosted by the same positive sentiment that helped its Australian counterpart.
The Westpac Consumer Confidence Index dropped from 108.6 in the June quarter to 103.5 in the September quarter, reaching the lowest level in six years. The current account turned from the surplus of NZ$0.09 billion to a deficit of NZ$1.62 billion in the June quarter (without adjustment for seasonal variations), trailing the average forecast of a deficit of NZ$1.23 billion.
A report on gross domestic product will be released at 22:45 GMT today. Analysts predict that it will show acceleration of economic growth from 0.5% in the first quarter of this year to 0.8% in the second quarter.
NZD/USD advanced from 0.6580 to 0.6603 as of 7:57 GMT today. EUR/NZD was at about 1.7716, close to the opening level of 1.7712 and bouncing from the daily low of 1.7673. NZD/JPY rose from 73.94 to 74.18.
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