NZD Weekly Review (Dec. 16 – 20)

After an early round of weakness for the Kiwi was turned around after a better-than-expected GDP read from NZ, and broad global risk sentiment moving positive.

New Zealand Headlines and Economic data

Monday:

• New Zealand Services PMI falls to 53.3 in Nov from 55.3 previous; Manufacturing PMI falls to 53.0 from 54.9

Tuesday:

• NZ business outlook jumped 13 points, services and manufacturing most upbeat sectors – ANZ
• Westpac: NZ consumer confidence up 6.8 points in December
• Global dairy trade prices are down -5.1% since Dec. 3
• The Kiwi moved lower despite the positive sentiment data from NZ on the session, which means it was likely tracking the Aussie lower. It’s close trading partner was feeling the sting of a mostly dovish set of RBA meeting minutes.

Wednesday:

• New Zealand current account deficit widened from 1.04B to 6.35B NZD
• New Zealand’s minimum wage will rise to $18.90 in 2020

Thursday:

• Higher retail consumption lifts New Zealand Q3 GDP
• New Zealand trade deficit narrows for a third straight month as exports outpaced imports in November

Friday:

• New Zealand credit card spending up from 2.3% to 4.5%