New Zealand Dollar declines amid US Dollar safe-haven demand, NFP focus
- The New Zealand Dollar weakens after Chinese manufacturing data met expectations but failed to provide support.
- Rising tensions between the US and Iran boost safe-haven demand and support the US Dollar.
- Markets are now focusing on the US jobs report after the ADP employment data missed expectations.
NZD/USD trades lower at 0.5660 on Wednesday, down 0.32%, reversing part of the previous day's rebound. The pair remains under pressure as the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) is weighed down by a more cautious market environment, while the US Dollar (USD) continues to strengthen.
The New Zealand Dollar remains under pressure after China's RatingDog Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) came in at 51.7 in June, down from 51.8 previously and in line with market expectations. The data failed to provide support for the Kiwi, as investors remain cautious about the outlook for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ). In addition, ASB Bank has dropped its call for a July rate hike and now expects the central bank to keep rates unchanged before gradually resuming policy tightening from September.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar is benefiting from renewed safe-haven demand. Geopolitical tensions remain elevated after Iran refused to hold direct talks with US envoys in Doha, reducing hopes for a swift de-escalation and supporting the Greenback.
The Greenback is also supported by expectations of a more hawkish monetary policy outlook. At its June meeting, the Federal Reserve (Fed) kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50%-3.75% while removing previous references to future rate cuts. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are now pricing in a roughly 50% chance of a rate hike at the September meeting.
Investors have also digested the ADP Employment Change report, which showed that US private payrolls increased by 98K in June, below the market consensus of 113K and following a gain of 122K in May. Market attention now turns to Thursday's US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report, with economists expecting 110K jobs to have been added in June and the Unemployment Rate to remain unchanged at 4.3%. The report could play a key role in shaping expectations for the Fed's next policy moves.
New Zealand Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of New Zealand Dollar (NZD) against listed major currencies today. New Zealand Dollar was the strongest against the Euro.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.38% | 0.12% | 0.03% | 0.16% | 0.33% | 0.13% | 0.29% | |
| EUR | -0.38% | -0.26% | -0.35% | -0.21% | -0.03% | -0.27% | -0.08% | |
| GBP | -0.12% | 0.26% | -0.09% | 0.04% | 0.20% | -0.03% | 0.19% | |
| JPY | -0.03% | 0.35% | 0.09% | 0.12% | 0.31% | 0.07% | 0.27% | |
| CAD | -0.16% | 0.21% | -0.04% | -0.12% | 0.18% | -0.06% | 0.14% | |
| AUD | -0.33% | 0.03% | -0.20% | -0.31% | -0.18% | -0.24% | -0.03% | |
| NZD | -0.13% | 0.27% | 0.03% | -0.07% | 0.06% | 0.24% | 0.20% | |
| CHF | -0.29% | 0.08% | -0.19% | -0.27% | -0.14% | 0.03% | -0.20% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the New Zealand Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent NZD (base)/USD (quote).
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