NZD/USD

Producer price index data from New Zealand released during the overnight trading session showed that after years of inflation evading the central bank's target threshold, there was signs that prices at the factory gate were rising.

Retail card spending in New Zealand increased 2.6% in January following a slowdown in the latter parts of 2016. Nominal spending levels were up a whopping 2.7%, well above market estimates for a 0.7% gain.

Strong uptick in the quarterly New Zealand inflation expectations alongside the increase in headline consumer prices in the last quarter of 2016, which saw inflation return to the RBNZ’s inflation target mid-point of 2%, reinforces expectations that the RBNZ will be tightening policy soon.

The quarterly unemployment rate in New Zealand released during the overnight session showed an increase to 5.2% in the three months ending December. This was higher than forecasts of 4.8%, which would have been an improvement from Q3's unemployment rate of 4.9%.

The New Zealand dollar opened slightly higher on Monday during the Asian trading session, with the gains reflecting the weakness in the U.S. dollar along with the news of improved trade balance figures for the month of December. NZDUSD rose to intraday session highs of $0.7280 before giving back the gains.

The New Zealand dollar has been posting strong gains over the past few sessions as the Kiwi has now retraced most of the declines since late November, led by the Trump rally. The latest house price data added further support to the Kiwi which is now within reach of the critical resistance level at 0.7231.

The third quarter GDP data from New Zealand is expected to be released today with expectations showing a 0.8% increase on a quarterly basis. This would be slower than the 0.9% increase registered in the second quarter.

The New Zealand dollar was weaker this morning after news outlets announced that the prime minister, John Key resigned from his post.

The New Zealand dollar is looking bullish today after the third quarter retail sales numbers were released ahead of time.

The New Zealand dollar is hit by weak sentiment, both on account of a stronger US dollar, dovish RBNZ meeting last week and the earthquake over the weekend.

The kiwi could come under further pressure today as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will be releasing its monetary policy decision.

The New Zealand dollar gapped lower on today's open with the US election rumors being the key market driver. Even the fundamentals were ignored.

The New Zealand dollar is poised to rally after the US dollar has been rallying for six weeks in a row.