NZD: Relative calm ahead after a busy political month - ING

Sandeep Kanihama FXStreet Contributor

After an eventful month for the kiwi dollar, the week ahead should provide some relative calm - with only second-tier manufacturing PMI and 3Q PPI inflation data to note (both Thu), according to analysts at ING.

Key Quotes

“The RBNZ last week batted away concerns over the government's proposal for a switch in the central bank's mandate to include a full employment objective; official estimates show that the output gap is close to zero, with the RBNZ, in fact, bringing forward their estimate for the first hike to 2Q19 (versus 3Q19). The reality is that it'll probably be a lot earlier than this - with market pricing for a 4Q18 hike about right in our view.”

“The external environment should remain fairly conducive in the near-term, especially if waning tax reform sentiment continues to weigh on the USD. We see greater risks for a move back above 0.70.”

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 retakes 1.1800 on renewed USD weakness

EUR/USD gains ground after three days of losses, re-attempting 1.1800in the European trading hours on Thursday. The US Dollar sees fresh selling interest across the board, despite hawkish Fed Minutes, as the market mood improves and supports the pair. US Jobless Claims data, Fedspeak and geopolitics remain in focus.

GBP/USD recovers above 1.3500 amid better mood

GBP/USD finds fresh demand and rises back above 1.3500 in the European session on Thursday. Improving risk sentiment and renewed US Dollar weakness are helping the pair recover ground ahead of mid-tier US data releases and Fedspeak.

Gold clings to gains above $5,000 amid safe-haven flows and Fed rate cut bets

Gold sticks to modest intraday gains, above the $5,000 psychological mark, through the first half of the European session, though it lacks bullish conviction amid mixed cues. The third round of US-mediated negotiations between Ukraine and Russia concluded in Geneva on Wednesday without any major breakthrough.

Injective token surges over 13% following the approval of the mainnet upgrade proposal

Injective price rallies over 13% on Thursday after the network confirmed the approval of its IIP-619 proposal. The green light for the mainnet upgrade has boosted traders’ sentiment, as the upgrade aims to scale Injective’s real-time Ethereum Virtual Machine architecture and enhance its capabilities to support next-generation payments. The technical outlook suggests further gains if INJ breaks above key resistance.

Hawkish Fed minutes and a market finding its footing

It was green across the board for US Stock market indexes at the close on Wednesday, with most S&P 500 names ending higher, adding 38 points (0.6%) to 6,881 overall. At the GICS sector level, energy led gains, followed by technology and consumer discretionary, while utilities and real estate posted the largest losses.