Prices in the New Zealand Dollar (NZD), Australian Dollar (AUD) pair extended lower to 0.9095 early Friday, approaching support at 0.9065 (1.1030). Australian Retail Sales played a hand in the AUD outperforming the NZD over the week when figures showed a bumper print of 0.6% in May compared to 0.3% expected and 0.1% in April. The RBA minutes confirming the RBA may be forced to raise interest rates at their August meeting advancing on their “higher for longer” mantra with sticky inflation at 3.6%. Next week’s RBNZ Cash Rate Decision shouldn’t bring about any surprises with the central bank to hold rates at 5.5%. Watch for a potential break below 0.9060 areas for a push towards 0.9000 (1.1110)
The current interbank midrate is: NZDAUD 0.9082 AUDNZD 1.1000
The interbank range this week has been: NZDAUD 0.9087- 0.9152 AUDNZD 1.0926- 1.1004