In today’s trading sessions across Europe and Asia, the New Zealand dollar (NZD) experienced a significant surge against the US dollar (USD), reaching a peak near 0.6060. This unexpected rise was primarily fueled by New Zealand’s retail sales data for the third quarter of 2023, which remained unexpectedly flat, countering market forecasts of a -0.8% decline. Notably, when excluding auto sales, the figures showed an increase of 1%, starkly contrasting with the anticipated -1.5%.
Further bolstering market sentiment, China’s recent measures to support property developers like Country Garden Holdings Co have injected confidence into the markets, particularly influencing the NZD due to New Zealand’s strong trade connections with China.
Meanwhile, the USD showed mixed sentiment ahead of the release of S&P Global PMI data as investors weighed the Federal Reserve’s potential policy changes, including possible interest rate cuts in May 2024. Despite an increase in Treasury yields following the Thanksgiving holiday, the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) latest hawkish stance combined with solid US labor and consumer sentiment reports are tempering bearish bets on the USD.
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