The Euro has appreciated against the New Zealand Dollar on Wednesday’s afternoon session, rising from an earlier exchange rate of 1.5579 to 1.5597.
This appreciation comes in the lull before the release of key Federal Reserve minutes, which may push the New Zealand Dollar down if they hint at a near-term US interest rate hike.
In the Eurozone, the Greek debt crisis has worsened, with guards at museums and archaeological sites going on strike to protest about austerity. The situation highlights the extreme difficulties faces by the Greek government, which must impose harsh fiscal policies on the populace to try and secure further bailout funds from international creditors.
(First published 12:07, July 5th, 2017)
The Euro has continued its turbulent trading against the New Zealand Dollar this week, trading at a rate of around 1.5579 after a spate of PMI figures.
- EUR NZD rate flat at 1.5579 – NZD EUR trades at 0.6417
- Euro trades tightly after retail sales rise – Eurozone PMIs fall be less-than-forecast
- New Zealand Dollar unsettled by commodity price stats – Previous dairy data continues to limit trading
- ECB accounts could restore Euro trading – New Zealand Dollar drop possible on Fed minutes
This week, the Euro hit a high against the New Zealand Dollar of 1.5647, but fell to a low of 1.5549 shortly afterwards.
Euro Left Rudderless by Slowing Growth and Rising Sales
The Euro has been in the middle of the road against the New Zealand Dollar today, with traders having to process a drop in Eurozone PMIs but a better-then-expected rise in retail sales.
In the former case, services and composite PMIs across the Eurozone have shown a slowdown, including France and Germany. For the most part, however, these slowdowns have not been by as much as forecast and the sectors still remain in a state of stable growth.
Summing up the Eurozone results has been Markit Chief Economist Chris Williamson;
‘The final headline PMI came in above the earlier flash estimate and consequently signalled only a very slight loss of growth momentum at the end of the second quarter. The latest readings are indicative of the Eurozone growing by an impressive 0.7% in the second quarter.
The dip in the [composite] PMI in June certainly doesn’t look like the start of a slowdown. Growth of new orders accelerated very slightly to reach the second highest in just over six years, and companies are struggling to satisfy this increase in demand’.
New Zealand Dollar Flat after Concerning Commodity Stats
The New Zealand Dollar has recently been weakened by negative data covering national exporters.
Initially, Tuesday saw the Global Dairy Trade price index drop by -0.4%, indicating lower prices for dairy products.
More recently, the ANZ commodity price index for June has also shown a slowdown. The dip from 3.2% to 2.1% has still shown growth in national commodity prices, but could be an indicator of continually slowing prices going ahead.
Euro Recovery Possible on ECB Meeting Minutes
The next major Euro-influencing news will be Thursday’s European Central Bank (ECB) meeting accounts.
These may provide an overview of policymaker receptiveness to a future ECB interest rate hike, a prospect which could boost the Euro.
In indirect news, the New Zealand Dollar could tumble when the US Federal Reserve minutes come out today. The minutes will cover the Fed’s June meeting and could show that the Fed is considering a third US interest rate hike in 2017.
Such an outlook may significantly weaken the NZD EUR exchange rate, as US rate hikes generally push the value of commodity currencies like the NZD down.
Current Interbank EUR NZD Exchange Rates
At the time of writing, the Euro to New Zealand Dollar (EUR NZD) exchange rate was trading at 1.5578 and the New Zealand Dollar to Euro (NZD EUR) exchange rate was trading at 0.6417.
