The New Zealand dollar dipped today, hurt by news from both New Zealand itself and from abroad. The currency declined for the fifth straight trading session versus the US dollar and the Japanese yen.
GlobalDairyTrade reported that prices dropped 1.6 percent during the first dairy auction this year. Milk exports account for about one third of New Zealand’s export revenue, making dairy prices an important factor for the nation’s economy and for the performance of the New Zealand dollar.
Turning to overseas news, economic data from China was disappointing yet again. The Caixin China General Services PMI dropped to 50.2 in December from 51.2 in the previous month whereas experts had predicted an increase to 52.3.
All the bad news fed speculations that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand would be forced to cut interest rates, adding even more downside pressure to the New Zealand currency.
NZD/USD dropped from 0.6702 to 0.6639 and NZD/JPY slid from 79.78 to 78.66 as of 3:02 GMT today. EUR/NZD climbed from 1.6022 to 1.6200.
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