NZD Rallies on Improving Business Confidence Despite Record Trade Deficit, Unable to Keep Gains

The New Zealand dollar behaved similar to its Australian counterpart, rising intraday but trimming gains later. New Zealand’s macroeconomic data released over the trading session was mixed, though the currency paid more attention to the good part.
On the positive side, the ANZ business confidence index improved to -38.3 in September from -50.3 in August. It was the highest reading since May. The positive report was largely responsible for the kiwi’s rally.
On the negative side, the trade balance deficit widened from NZ$196 million in July to NZ$1,484 million in August. The actual figure was noticeably above the consensus forecast of NZ$930 million. Moreover, it was the biggest monthly deficit on the record.
NZD/USD traded at about 0.6654 as of 9:55 GMT today after opening at 0.6648 and rising to the daily high of 0.6687. EUR/NZD opened at 1.7698, fell to the daily low of 1.7583 but rebounded to 1.7680 later. NZD/JPY was at 75.14 following the rally from the opening level of 75.05 to the daily maximum of 75.53.

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