US Non-Farm Payroll sent the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) reeling Friday, dropping from 0.6150 levels against the US Dollar (USD) to 0.6060 where the cross closed the week. Figures showed an improvement in jobs added in December of 216,000 with most industry sectors adding jobs, the print a lot better than the 173,000 expected. Early in the week the kiwi posted a new 2024 low of 0.6035 before recovering off NZ Job’s data into Friday. NZ unemployment clicked higher from 3.9% in the third quarter to 4.0% after a forecast of 4.3% was expected, confirming a slowdown in the NZ economy is playing out. This sparked a flurry of NZD buying, the kiwi pushing back to 0.6125. Next week’s economic docket is sizable with US CPI and NZ inflation expectations due. Traffic around 0.6000 looks safe for now.
The current interbank midrate is: NZDUSD 0.6093
The interbank range this week has been: NZDUSD 0.6037- 0.6123