Australian Dollar At Multi-day Low Versus New Zealand Kiwi [AUD/NZD]
4/18/2008 10:16:52 AM After a week long uptrend, the Australian dollar lost ground versus its New Zealand counterpart in the morning session on Friday and dropped to a multi-day low of 1.1802 by about 9:40 am ET, down from a session`s high of 1.1896 hit in the morning.
Australia`s Export Price Index gained 3.5% for the first quarter of 2008, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today. The Import Price Index rose 2.7%. Both increases were better than analysts` forecasts. The report showed that the export index posted its first quarterly gain since the June 2007 period. The index posted a loss of 0.6% for the preceding quarter.
Traders are looking ahead of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand`s interest rates review on next Thursday. Currently, the 8.25% percent benchmark rate is the highest in the industrialized world. There is a wide speculation that the RBNZ will keep the benchmark rate unchanged.
As of now, the Australian dollar is trading at its multi-day low level of 1.1801 versus the New Zealand kiwi. The Aussie hit a multi-month high of 1.1925 versus the kiwi yesterday.
Australian Dollar At 5-month High Versus Kiwi [AUD/NZD]
4/16/2008 10:56:34 AM The Australian dollar edged higher in the mid-morning New York deals on Wednesday against its New Zealand counterpart, hitting a 5-month high of 1.1896 by about 10:25 am ET. The Aussie has been moving in an upward channel versus the New Zealand dollar from March 25 this year.
Economic news made headlines in Australia during early morning Wednesday was the survey conducted by the Westpac-Melbourne Institute. The institute said that the leading index slowed to 3.3% in February, from a reading of 4.1% in January. It marked the third straight month of lower growth figures.
In its commentary, the Westpac-Melbourne group said the February index reading appeared to help assure that inflation in Australia remained under control and eliminate the need for new action by the RBA.
Meanwhile, a Statistics New Zealand report this week showed the retail sales dropped 0.7% in February, the most since April 2007, which is clearly indicating that the consumer spending is slowing.
At the same time, New Zealand consumer spending and house price growth slowing and business confidence at a 33-year low, according to a recently released report.
Data from the U.S. Department of Labor showed that the consumer price index rose 0.3% in March after coming in unchanged in the previous month. The report also showed that the core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy prices, edged up by 0.2% in March. The increase in core prices also came in line with economist estimates.
The Aussie fetched above 1.1900 level versus the New Zealand dollar by about 10:35 am ET Wednesday, first time since November 2007. The pair is currently trading at 1.1890, a few pips down from its multi-month peak of 1.1913.