AUD/NZD trades 5 or so pips lower at....>

AUSSIE-KIWI: AUD/NZD trades 5 or so pips lower at NZ$1.0665 at writing. Soft NZ

CPI resulted in AUD/NZD adding > 100 pips at one point Wednesday, before the

pair faded from highs. Stronger than exp. Chinese GDP & econ activity data gave

the bid a 2nd wind, but the pair failed to re-test session highs, closing below

its 200-DMA, but still a healthy ~60 pips better off on the day.

- A crude overlay of AU/NZ 2-Year swap spreads continues to offer a good

indication of AUD/NZD price activity, with the relative pricing for MonPol at

the Antipodean Reserve Banks driving much of the recent movement (the pair now

trades over 350 pips off the late March lows). The recent move in the pair has

likely been exacerbated by positioning, with the CFTC COT reports pointing to

roughly neutral NZD positioning vs. a growing short AUD position in both

headline net terms and in % of open interest terms evident through '19 thus far.

- From a technical perspective, bears look to NZ$1.0581-82, which limited losses

on Apr 11-15, while bulls will look for a break above the 200-DMA before

challenging yesterday's YtD high, located at NZ$1.0732.

- Australian labour market data provides the key regional release today.