Fresh YTD Lows Sub 0.6000, Quiet Data Start To The Week

NZD/USD finished under 0.6000 on Friday in NY trade and tracks close to these lows in early Monday dealings. This was a loss of nearly 0.90% and put the pair back to levels last seen in Nov last year. Intra-session lows form Nov 17 2023 came in at 0.5940, a potential downside focus point. On the topside the 20-day EMA sits back around the 0.6090 level.

• Greenback strength was broad based through Friday trade, the BBDXY rising 0.40% to 1246.5, fresh highs back to mid Feb.
• Dovish rhetoric from EU central banks late last week aided USD gains, while the break higher in USD/CNY on Friday (above 7.2000), was another fresh catalyst for broader USD gains.
• Equity sentiment was softer in Friday trade, although US and EU equity losses weren't large or broad based in aggregate. US yields were lower in Friday trade, the 10yr back to 4.20%, but this didn't weigh materially on USD sentiment, although yen did outperform.
• NZD/JPY sits back near 90.80/85, against recent highs above 92.00. The AUD/NZD cross is at 1.0865/70, just off recent highs.
• The data calendar is empty today, while consumer confidence prints on Wed, business confidence on Thursday. We do have RBNZ Chief Economist Conway speaking tomorrow about the Feb MPS, but no speaking notes will be published.
• The RBNZ also released an analytical note stating the inflationary impact of the labour market can be summarized using 4 indicators, see this link for more details.