NZ PM Ardern: Auckland alert level 3 to be extended by two weeks

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday, the lockdown in the country’s largest city of Auckland will be extended by two weeks.

Earlier on, the local media reported that the government is considering tightening restrictions in Auckland again, on the lines of a 'circuit breaker' lockdown.

This comes as the South Pacific Island nation reports a rise in the covid cases, with 2.5% of its population having managed to vaccinate in a single day.

Market reaction

NZD/USD is retreating on these headlines, as it trades at 0.7073, up 0.14% on the day, as of writing. The spot jumped to five-month highs of 0.7105 after NZ CPI upside surprise, which brought the RBNZ rate hike expectations back into play.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD drops to daily lows near 1.1630

EUR/USD now loses some traction and slips back to the area of daily lows around 1.1630 on the back of a mild bounce in the US Dollar. Fresh US data, including the September PCE inflation numbers and the latest read on December consumer sentiment, didn’t really move the needle, so the pair is still on course to finish the week with a respectable gain.

GBP/USD trims gains, recedes toward 1.3320

GBP/USD is struggling to keep its daily advance, coming under fresh pressure and retreating to the 1.3320 zone following a mild bullish attempt in the Greenback. Even though US consumer sentiment surprised to the upside, the US Dollar isn’t getting much love, as traders are far more interested in what the Fed will say next week.

Gold makes a U-turn, back to $4,200

Gold is now losing the grip and receding to the key $4,200 region per troy ounce following some signs of life in the Greenback and a marked bounce in US Treasury yields across the board. The positive outlook for the precious metal, however, remains underpinned by steady bets for extra easing by the Fed.