Ardern Sees Omicron Outbreak As Case Of "When Not If"

NZD/USD trades at $0.6808 at typing, barely changed on the day, as PM Ardern has just wrapped up a press briefing before receiving her Covid-19 booster jab. Bulls see Jan 13/Nov 25 highs of $0.6891/94 as their initial target, a break here would open up the $0.6900 mark. Bears look for a fall through Jan 14 low of $0.6792 towards Jan 6 low of $0.6733.

• PM Ardern told a press briefing that an eventual community outbreak of Omicron is inevitable, adding that regions would likely move into the "red light" setting when it happens. The government is due to provide an update on its Covid-19 response system parameters on Thursday.
• Elsewhere, the gov't is reviewing new banking regulations to see whether lenders are implementing the new rules as planned. The investigation has been launched in response to evidence that some lenders have been overly rigorous in applying the new rules.
• Looking ahead, REINZ housing market data & NZIER Business Opinion Survey will hit the wires on Tuesday, with BusinessNZ M'fing PMI coming up Friday. In the meantime, China's GDP & economic activity indicators will take focus today.