New Zealand's trade balance flipped to a.......>

KIWI: New Zealand's trade balance flipped to a deficit as expected, but the gap

was narrower than expected. The kiwi showed little reaction to the release and

participants set their sights on the local ANZ Business Confidence Survey, due

at the top of the hour. NZD/USD now trades at $0.6285, 7 pips shy of neutral

levels as it extends Wednesday's losses to fresh multi-month lows.

- The driver behind NZD/USD sales on Wednesday was the familiar culprit, namely

the Covid-19 epidemic. Participants watched case counts tick higher across the

globe, with broader risk appetite facing pressure as a result.

- The Oct 16 low of $0.6241 provides the initial bearish target, with a break

here opening the Oct 1 trough at $0.6204. Conversely, bulls look to recoup

Tuesday's peak at $0.6359.

- Per BusinessDesk, NZ FinMin Robertson pointed to a risk of a longer economic

impact of Covid-19, adding that the gov't & RBNZ have policy scope to respond to

challenges. RBNZ's Hawkesby earlier told MNI that further monetary easing

wouldn't be an appropriate response to the epidemic.

- Looking further afield, we have ANZ Cons. Conf. Survey coming up on Friday.