Weekly report of Kiwi

Kiwi bears got some hard time last week after some risk aversion and profit-taking. Consumer prices up by 0.7% from Q2 to Q3 2020 against market estimates of a 0.9% uptick.

Annual prices dipped from 1.5% to 1.4%, the lowest since Q1 2018, as the pandemic extends its impact on consumer activity. Optimism over a stimulus deal in the U.S., uncertainty over the second Presidential debate, and NZ’s CPI miss helped drag NZD about 15 pips lower during the Asian session.

Analysts see quarterly inflation cooling further to 0.5% in Q4 2020. Annual prices could slow down from 1.4% to 1.1%.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) pays close attention to business sentiment so you should too. NZIER’s business confidence (Jan 19, 9:00 pm GMT) could improve from -40 to -30 in Q4 2020. BusinessNZ’s manufacturing index (Jan 21, 9:30 pm GMT) seen weakening from 55.3 to 53.7.

Avadoot Shah

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