AUS Domestic Economic Data Pushed Up The AUD - APAC Update

Xe Corporate APAC

2019年4月3日 — 3 min read

The AUDUSD opens at 0.7117 (mid-rate), and the NZDUSD opens at 0.6785 (mid-rate) this morning.

The AUD has extended yesterday afternoon’s gains following upbeat domestic economic data and finds itself back above US 71 cents having tested 0.7050 support during yesterday’s trading session.

Retail sales during the month of February increased  a seasonally adjusted 0.8% m/m beating expectations of a 0.2% rise following the 0.1% gain in January. The result represented the highest monthly increase in more than 14 months.

Australia’s trade surplus rose to a record high of $4.8B in February with rising metal ores and mineral prices more than offsetting a decline in exports to China. The result came as a surprise to economists who had forecast the surplus to fall to $3.4B from January’s $4.5B surplus.

Broad risk-appetite has helped the NZD rebound off yesterday’s lows with the NZDUSD pushing back towards US 68 cents.

US-China's Trade Deal Update

Optimism surrounding the latest round of trade talks between the US and China has led to an increase in risk appetite with global equity markets posting gains overnight. An article in the Financial Times reported US and Chinese officials have “resolved most of the issues standing in the way of a deal” with the fate of existing US tariffs on Chinese goods and the terms of an enforcement mechanism demanded by Washington to ensure that China abides by the deal the two key issues to be resolved.

Earlier this morning the ADP reported US private sector employment for the month of March increased by 129k following an upwardly revised 197k jobs increase in February. The result was disappointing with economists predicting an increase of 170k jobs  compared to the addition of 183k jobs originally reported for February.

With little in the way of economic data ahead of Friday night’s Non-Farm Payrolls we expect the NZD to consolidate at current levels.

Global equity markets are on the rise, - Dow +0.26%, S&P 500 +0.49%, FTSE +0.37%, DAX +1.70%, CAC +0.84%, Nikkei +0.97%, Shanghai +1.24%. Gold prices are little changed trading at $1,291 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices have stabilised and are trading at $62.42 a barrel.

Mid-market Rates
AUDUSD0.71170.8%NZDUSD0.67850.6%AUDEUR0.63310.4%NZDEUR0.60370.2%AUDGBP0.54050.4%NZDGBP0.51550.3%AUDJPY79.370.9%NZDJPY75.670.7%AUDNZD1.04860.1%NZDAUD0.9535-0.1%GBPAUD1.8501-0.4%NZDCAD0.90380.4% GBPNZD1.9399-0.3%
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