RBNZ Gov Orr Says OCR To Rise Above Neutral Level, HYEFO Eyed Today

NZD/USD meandered on Tuesday but late-doors sell-off left the rate in negative territory at the end of the day. Above-forecast PPI figures released out of the U.S. on the eve of a FOMC monetary policy decision fuelled expectations of a more hawkish outcome, lending support to the greenback.

• When this is being typed, the kiwi underperforms at the margin, as New Zealand's quarterly BoP current account deficit expanded more than forecast in the three months through September.
• There was little of real note in the parliamentary testimony from RBNZ Gov Orr. The official signalled that the OCR is expected to rise above its neutral level (as predicted in the latest MPS).
• Later this week, focus turns to quarterly GDP report (Thursday) as well as monthly ANZ Consumer Confidence & Business Confidence (Friday).
• In the meantime, FinMin Robertson will deliver his Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) at the bottom of the hour. The previous forecasts were included in the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) published in May.
• NZD/USD operates -5 pips at $0.6739, registering losses for the third straight day. A fall through yesterday's low of $0.6736 would shift focus to Nov 2, 2020 low of $0.6589. Meanwhile, a rebound above Dec 9 high of $0.6823 would bring Dec 1 high of $0.6868 into play.