BusinessNZ M'fing PMI Improves, ANZ Tweaks OCR Hike Call

Broad-based greenback sales pushed NZD/USD higher on Thursday, despite deteriorating risk backdrop. European & U.S. equity markets turned red amid widespread recession fears, but retreating U.S. Tsy yields created a drag on the U.S. dollar.

• Spot NZD/USD trades at $0.6366, up 5 pips on the day. A clean break above Jun 3 high of $0.6576 would mark the formation of a notable bullish structure. Conversely, bears need a dip through Jun 14 low of $0.6197 to regain poise.
• ANZ changed their RBNZ call and said this morning that they now expect the Reserve Bank to deliver two 50bp hikes in both July and August, without reverting to a 25bp move on the second occasion, as forecast before. The revision came despite a surprise Q1 GDP contraction reported earlier this week.
• New Zealand's BusinessNZ M'fing PMI improved by 1.7 point to 52.9 in May, but the updated reading "was still below the long-term average of 53.1 for the survey." Sub-indexes suggested that "excess demand alleviated during May" and if it keeps weakening, "so too will be core inflation pressure."