APAC Morning Update - 04/02/21

The NZD opens at 0.7195 

The Kiwi dollar had a good day yesterday as the Unemployment figures came in well lower, at 4.9% rather than the 5.6% expected. Since Covid, data has been a bit harder to predict, and the volatility around it compared to expectations remains elevated. Even so, globally unemployment has generally spiked up to circa 10% before eventually grinding lower. In New Zealand it looks like we are already grinding lower, and the spike only reached 5.3%. This is clearly good news, and makes the idea of the RBNZ going negative later this month a lot harder to contemplate. 

Overnight there is a slew of data out of the UK, with their official bank rate and asset purchase facility data out. Since Brexit has been announced, the BOE have been very quiet, basically waiting and seeing how that will play out before doing anything too dramatic. With interest rates at 0.1%, they do not have too much room to move, but if they decide they want to stimulate further it will probably be through the asset purchase facility. My point is mainly what used to be a data release which was not very market moving, may well get a bit more exciting going forward.

Global equity markets are mixed: Dow +0.2%, S&P 500 +0.5%, FTSE -0.1%, DAX +0.7%, CAC -0.0%, Nikkei +1.0%, Shanghai -0.4%.

Gold prices are off 0.1%, currently trading at $1,834 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices are up 1.6% trading at $55.8 a barrel

NZDUSD 0.7195 0.6%
NZDEUR 0.5981 0.5%
NZDGBP 0.5273 0.6%
NZDJPY 75.57 0.5%
NZDAUD 0.9443 0.2%
NZDCAD 0.9192 0.3%
GBPNZD 1.8959 -0.7%

AUDUSD 0.7621 0.4%
AUDEUR 0.6337 0.4%
AUDGBP 0.5586 0.5%
AUDJPY 80.05 0.4%
AUDNZD 1.0592 -0.1%
GBPAUD 1.7899 -0.5%