NZD/USD gains to near 0.6040 amid uncertainty surrounding US tariff policy
- NZD/USD recovers early losses and gains to near 0.6040 as the USD Index refreshes a seven-week low.
- US President Trump confirms that he will send letters to his trading partners stating trade terms and tariff rates.
- Trump confirms that China will supply rare earths and magnets.
The NZD/USD claws back its initial losses and rises to near 0.6040 during early European trading hours on Thursday. The Kiwi pair attracts bids as the US Dollar (USD) declines as uncertainty surrounding the outlook of the United States' (US) tariff policy has escalated.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, posts a fresh seven-week low near 98.30.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Centre that he is prepared to send a final trade agreement, including tariff rates, to those trading partners from whom Washington has not received any proposal or those who are not negotiating in good faith.
“At a certain point we’re just going to send letters out saying ‘this is the deal,’ you can take it or you can leave it,” Trump said and added, “We’re going to be sending letters out in a week and a half to two weeks telling them what the deal is.”
Though investors have underpinned the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) against the US Dollar, the former is underperforming against other peers as trade terms announced by US President Trump with China on Wednesday lack what Beijing has received in return, potentially increasing doubts on the longevity of the trade truce.
Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!)," Trump wrote in a tweet on Truth.Social. He further added, "We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent!
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 weakest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.30% | -0.31% | -0.45% | -0.12% | 0.03% | -0.13% | -0.45% | |
| EUR | 0.30% | -0.01% | -0.17% | 0.17% | 0.30% | 0.17% | -0.13% | |
| GBP | 0.31% | 0.00% | -0.18% | 0.17% | 0.29% | 0.16% | -0.15% | |
| JPY | 0.45% | 0.17% | 0.18% | 0.32% | 0.46% | 0.27% | 0.00% | |
| CAD | 0.12% | -0.17% | -0.17% | -0.32% | 0.15% | -0.02% | -0.32% | |
| AUD | -0.03% | -0.30% | -0.29% | -0.46% | -0.15% | -0.13% | -0.44% | |
| NZD | 0.13% | -0.17% | -0.16% | -0.27% | 0.02% | 0.13% | -0.31% | |
| CHF | 0.45% | 0.13% | 0.15% | -0.01% | 0.32% | 0.44% | 0.31% |
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).
Given that the New Zealand (NZ) economy is one of the leading trading partners of China, uncertainty over the Chinese economic outlook impacts the Kiwi dollar negatively.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
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