NZD/USD operates at $0.6636, almost............>

KIWI: NZD/USD operates at $0.6636, almost unchanged. BusinessNZ released their

PMI survey for December ahead of the open. NZD/USD lost some ground as New

Zealand's manufacturing sector slipped into contraction. Little attention was

given to NZ Tsy's 5-month financial statements, which showed that budget surplus

was wider than expected as tax revenue topped projections.

- Solid economic data out of New Zealand allowed NZD/USD to print a new weekly

high of $0.6665 before receding on the back of stronger than exp. U.S. retail

sales, Philly Fed Survey & jobless claims. Still, the rate held about half of

its earlier gains and despite the late doors downtick in reaction to the

BusinessNZ PMI, it finished the day in positive territory.

- Bulls look for a jump above Thursday's peak at $0.6665 before attempting a

move at the Jan 6 high of $0.6680. Bears need a drop below the $0.6600 mark

before targeting $0.6584, the low of Jan 15.

- China's Q4 GDP & monthly activity indicators for Dec are on the radar today.

NZ data highlights next week include CPI andcredit card spending, due Friday. On

top of that, there is a GDT auction coming up next Tuesday.