NZ Dollar Rises Despite Shrinking Trade Surplus

According to data released today, New Zealand’s trade balance surplus shrank last month. But that did not prevent the New Zealand dollar from rising. In fact, it was the strongest among the most-traded currencies.
Statistics New Zealand reported that the trade balance showed a surplus of NZ$282 million in July. It was a sharp drop from the previous month’s revised value of NZ$475 million but it was within market expectations. Exports slipped a little by 0.2%, year-on-year, while imports slumped by 18%. Imports declined from all of New Zealand’s major trading partners with the exception of China. Exports were down to China and Japan but up to the United States, the European Union, and Australia.
The current trading session was not rich in terms of macroeconomic data, and the only notable release left is US durable goods orders. The whole week was light on major economic reports, making traders wait for the Jackson Hole symposium for cues. Of particular interest will be the speech of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. His comments may give hints about Fed’s plans for monetary policy, and that can have a tremendous impact on markets.
NZD/USD gained from 0.6545 to 0.6564 as of 11:31 GMT today. EUR/NZD tumbled from 1.8072 to 1.7984. AUD/NZD fell from 1.0985 to 1.0975.
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