NZ: Regional economic confidence deteriorated in the March 2019 quarter – Westpac

Sandeep Kanihama FXStreet Contributor

According to the Westpac-McDermott Miller Regional Economic Confidence survey, New Zealand’s regional economic confidence deteriorated in the March 2019 quarter, with eight of eleven regions recording a fall, contrasting to the previous quarter where all regions had posted gains.

Key Quotes

“The biggest falls in confidence were in Auckland, Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast, and Canterbury.”

“Auckland is by far the most pessimistic region in the country.”

“The only regions to report improved household confidence were fast growing Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, which is the most confident region in the country.”

“Recent outperformers on the east coast of the North Island and the southern part of the South Island all experienced sharp drops in confidence as their overheating economies showed signs of cooling.”

Author

Sandeep Kanihama

FXStreet Contributor

Sandeep Kanihama is an FX Editor and Analyst with FXstreet having principally focus area on Asia and European markets with commodity, currency and equities coverage. He is stationed in the Indian capital city of Delhi.

EUR/USD eases marginally, back to 1.1800

EUR/USD navigates a narrow range on Thursday, hovering around the 1.1800 neighbourhood in a context of humble gains in the US Dollar. The pair’s lacklustre performance come amid the unabated trade uncertainty, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the cautious tone from the ECB’s Lagarde.

GBP/USD retreats from tops, approaching 1.3540

GBP/USD partially sets aside Wednesday’s strong advance and recedes to the 1.3540 region on Thursday. Cable’s modest retracement follows the equally acceptable gains in the Greenback, while investors continue to pencil in a potential BoE rate cut in March.

Gold clings to gains just below $5,200, focus on geopolitics

Gold is edging modestly higher on Thursday, adding to Wednesday’s uptick and holding just below the $5,200 mark per troy ounce against the backdrop of modest gains in the US Dollar. In the meantime, attention is turning to the geopolitical scenario following US-Iran nuclear talks.