NZD/USD loses ground as New Zealand recorded a trade deficit of NZD 2.99 billion in August.
New Zealand’s Exports fell to NZD 5.94 billion, while imports declined to NZD 7.12 billion in August.
The US Dollar gains ground after the release of Weekly Initial Jobless Claims.
NZD/USD loses ground for the third consecutive day, trading around 0.5880 during the Asian hours on Friday. The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) remains subdued against the US Dollar (USD) following the domestic trade balance data.
New Zealand’s trade deficit shrank to NZD 2.99 billion year-over-year in August, from a NZD 4.12 billion deficit the prior month. Exports declined to NZD 5.94 billion in August, from NZD 6.56 billion in July. Meanwhile, imports edged lower to NZD 7.12 billion from NZD 7.27 billion.
Additionally, the weaker-than-expected New Zealand Gross Domestic Product (GDP), released on Thursday, exerts some selling pressure on the Kiwi pair. GDP declined by 0.9% QoQ in the second quarter (Q2), reversing a 0.9% expansion in Q1. On an annual basis, the New Zealand economy contracted by 0.6% in Q2, compared with a fall of 0.6% in Q1.
Additionally, the NZD/USD pair faces challenges as the US Dollar gains support after the release of the United States (US) Weekly Initial Jobless Claims on Thursday. The US Department of Labour (DOL) released on Thursday, the number of US citizens submitting new applications for unemployment insurance declined to 231K for the week ending September 13. The latest print came in short of initial estimates of 240K and was lower than the previous week’s 264K (revised from 263K). Meanwhile, Continuing Jobless Claims shrank by 7K to 1.920M for the week ending September 6.
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