Christchurch Covid Cases Bring On Risk Of Snap Lockdowns

NZD/USD was volatile Wednesday and struggled for a clear direction. The rate extended its drop into the London morning as U.S. Democrats unveiled their "billionaire tax" plan, denting risk appetite. Subsequent recovery allowed NZD/USD to reverse losses into the NY session, but the pair pulled back towards neutral levels late doors.

• NZD/USD last seen at $0.7169, virtually unchanged on the day. A clearance of Oct 21 high of $0.7219 would allow bulls to target Jun 7 high of $0.7243. On the flip side, a dip through the 200-DMA at $0.7102 would give bears some momentum.
• Health Min Hipkins confirmed that two Covid-19 cases have been found in Christchurch and noted that snap lockdowns in the city cannot be ruled out. Besides last week's Blenheim case, these are the first community cases in the South Island for nearly a year. Hipkins will provide the next update on the matter at the 13:00NZDT/01:00BST presser.
• CoreLogic Property Market and Economic Update for Q3 suggested that "the market has peaked, with both sales activity and price growth set to ease further over the coming months." Their Chief Property Economist noted that "the slowdown [in average property value growth] is genuine, and has further to run."
• Looking ahead, New Zealand's ANZ Consumer Confidence will be published on Friday.