|

RBNZ’s Bascand: Heightened uncertainties remain, COVID-19 still poses risks

Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Deputy Governor Bascand made some comments on the housing sector and economic recovery, in his latest speech early Thursday.

Key quotes

“Heightened uncertainties remain, COVID-19 still poses risks.”

“To take action as needed to ensure regulated financial institutions' balance sheets are resilient to future stresses in the economy and financial system.”

“We remain in a state of heightened uncertainty; covid still poses risks to the economic recovery and we assess that house prices are at an unsustainable level.”

“Institutions should avoid being over-exposed to vulnerabilities that could arise from excessive debt in the household or business sectors.”

Market reaction

The downbeat remarks fail to have any impact on the kiwi dollar, as it continues to benefit from the US dollar’s weakness amid the risk-on market mood.

NZD/USD is trading at 0.6971, up 0.14% on the day.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

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.

More from Dhwani Mehta
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD clings to gains around 1.1800

EUR/USD manages to regain composure and retests the 1.1800 region in quite a positive start to the week. The pair’s bounce follows the US Dollar’s offered stance post-SCOTUS ruling ahead of important US data and Fedspeak on Tuesday.

GBP/USD looks stuck around 1.3500 amid firm gains

GBP/USD is pushing further north on Monday, revisiting the 1.3500 hurdle and beyond. Cable’s uptick is largely being fuelled by the broader softness in the Greenback, amid lingering uncertainty around tariffs.

Gold pops above $5,200, four-week highs

Gold is holding onto its bullish tone on Monday, reaching new multi-week highs just past the $5,200 mark per troy ounce. Fresh trade-war concerns, coupled with rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, are keeping demand for the yellow metal well on the rise.

Ethereum Price Forecast: BitMine's holdings reach 4.42 million ETH as Fundstrat predicts 87% win-ratio

Ethereum (ETH) treasury firm BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) scooped up 51,162 ETH last week, marking its largest purchase since December.

Supreme Court nixes tariffs, Trump teases 15% global tariff

On February 20th, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s global tariffs under IEEPA authority were unconstitutional, effectively nullifying the framework. However, the relief was short-lived. Within hours, Trump floated a 15% blanket tariff under an alternative legal authority.

XRP recovers slightly as bearish sentiment dominates crypto market

Ripple is rising above $1.40 at the time of writing on Monday amid fresh tariff-triggered headwinds in the broader cryptocurrency market. The sell-off to $1.33, the token’s intraday low, can be attributed to macroeconomic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and risk-averse sentiment among other factors.