Yahoo Finance AUD/USD and NZD/USD Fundamental Daily Forecast – New Zealand Exports and Imports Hit New Highs Last Year
The New Zealand Dollar is trading flat and the Australian Dollar is trading lower early Monday as investors react to fresh economic data while preparing for several upcoming major events later this week.
At 0531 GMT, the NZD/USD is trading .73194, down 0.00010 or -0.01% and the AUD/USD is at .80711, down 0.00236 or -0.29%.
The Forex pairs settled lower on Monday as bullish investors took a breather following last week’s strong rallies.
In the U.S., the Core PCE Price Index came in as expected at 0.2%. Personal Spending rose 0.4%, but this was slightly below the 0.5% estimate. Personal Spending, however, came in better than expected at 0.4%.
Forecast
as the country earned more from agricultural products and bought more care and computers.
Goods exports jumped 11 percent to $53.7 billion in 2017 from 2016, while imports increased 9.4 percent to $56.5 billion, with both surpassing their previous highs, Statistics New Zealand said. The annual trade deficit narrowed to $2.8 billion from $3.1 billion.
In Australia, the National Australia Bank’s business survey showed confidence rose in December due to a stronger global economic outlook.
The NAB said a bounce in business confidence has narrowed the gap between sentiment and business conditions.
The lender’s December business survey showed business conditions remained steady and well above the long-run average, and a stronger global economic backdrop drove confidence to its highest level since July 2017.
NAB chief economist Alan Oster said the business conditions and confidence are now in line, after being divided over the past couple of years, which is an “encouraging signal” for investment.
“That said, while business conditions have held at a high level through 2017, they have tended to outperform measures of activity in the national accounts in recent times,” Mr. Oster said in a statement.
In the U.S. on Tuesday, investors will get the opportunity to react to the S&P/CS Composite-20 HPI. It is expected to come in at 6.3%, slightly below the previous 6.4%.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence report is expected to come in at 123.2, slightly above the previously reported 122.1.
Late Tuesday, President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address. I expect him to talk up the economy and the U.S. Dollar, while discussing his immigration and infrastructure spending plans. This could be bearish for the AUD/USD and NZD/USD.
Australia will release its latest report on consumer inflation. Quarterly CPI is expected to come in at 0.7%, slightly above the previously reported 0.6%, but probably not enough to sway the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise rates sooner-than-expected.
This article was originally posted on FX Empire
