New Zealand Building Permits arrived 35.6% MoM, much better than prior and consensus

Ross J Burland FXStreet

New Zealand Building Permits were much improved for the month of May, arriving at 35.6%, the largest monthly change since February 1972, vs -0.1% vs -9.9% prior.

Description the Building Permits s.a

The Building Permits s.a. released by the Statistics New Zealand show the number of permits for new construction projects. It is considered as a leading indicator for the housing market. The more growing number of permits, the more positive (or bullish) for the NZD, while a low reading is seen as negative, or bearish.

"Building consent numbers are more uncertain at the moment, coming from many underlying factors, as well as the effects of COVID-19 and the implications councils may have faced due to the lockdown in April"

"This month's statistics can also include consents submitted several weeks or months before, so the true effects of COVID-19 may only be seen several months down the line,"

Statistics New Zealand warned.

NZD/USD was unchanged on the data., holding around 0.6450 following a positive session in New York.

A moderate improvement on market sentiment, with US benchmarks rallying to end what was a very strong quarterly performance for Wall Street, weighed on the safe-haven US dollar, boosting demand for riskier currencies like the New Zealand dollar.

For the day ahead, Caixin Manufacturing PMI’s are on the calendar. Another firm data point should be a booster for risk appetite and the Kiwi.

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

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