New Zealand Dollar Extends Gains
The New Zealand dollar edged up to $0.563 on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session as the US dollar weakened further following a decisive victory by Democrats in the US midterm elections. The result eased fears of a disputed election outcome but raised the prospect of political gridlock, potentially limiting President Donald Trump's ability to pursue his plans, including launching fresh military strikes against Iran. The resulting decline in the US dollar more than offset pressure from disappointing domestic jobs data, which prompted investors to scale back bets on a Reserve Bank rate hike in December. Markets are now pricing in less than a 50% chance of a rate increase next month, down from around 75% earlier this week. Attention now turns to New Zealand's general election on Saturday, with opinion polls showing a tight race between the ruling centre-right National-led coalition and opposition parties, led by the centre-left Labour Party.
The New Zealand dollar edged up to $0.563 on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session as the US dollar weakened further following a decisive victory by Democrats in the US midterm elections. The result eased fears of a disputed election outcome but raised the prospect of political gridlock, potentially limiting President Donald Trump's ability to pursue his plans, including launching fresh military strikes against Iran. The resulting decline in the US dollar more than offset pressure from disappointing domestic jobs data, which prompted investors to scale back bets on a Reserve Bank rate hike in December.
Markets are now pricing in less than a 50% chance of a rate increase next month, down from around 75% earlier this week. Attention now turns to New Zealand's general election on Saturday, with opinion polls showing a tight race between the ruling centre-right National-led coalition and opposition parties, led by the centre-left Labour Party.