NZ Building Permits Shrink For First Time Since July

NZD/USD ground higher yesterday, with price action driven by underlying risk dynamics, as the kiwi shrugged off chatter surrounding the implications of NZ gov't's latest housing policy package. A recovery in sentiment provided a tailwind for the pair, helping it finish the day on the front foot.

• NZ building permits dipped 18.2% M/M in Feb after rising 1.5% over the prior month. The statistic registered the first monthly decline since Jul, with accompanying commentary pointing to "the strong January 2021 month, as well as the timing of multi-unit home projects."
• Worth noting that NZ hourly minimum wage goes up to NZ$20.00 from NZ$18.90 on Thursday, while during Monday's presser PM Ardern suggested that her gov't could hike the minimum wage again next year.
• NZD/USD sits at $0.7005, a handful of pips higher on the day. A break above Mar 24/29 highs of $0.7018 would encourage bulls to target the 100-DMA at $0.7134. Bears need a dip through Mar 25 low of $0.6943 before targeting the 200-DMA at $0.6878.
• NZ highlights during the remainder of this week include final ANZ business confidence (Wednesday), ANZ Consumer Confidence (Thursday) & CoreLogic House Price Index (no fixed time).