The Kiwi jumped against the US Dollar, following the data release on the New Zealand's labour market. The NZD/USD exchange rate rose 0.48% or 35 pips, but returned to the 0.7320 mark.
Statistics New Zealand stated that the country's job growth slowed less than anticipated in the December quarter of 2017, as government change caused a decrease in business confidence and made companies more cautious concerning hiring. However, the unemployment rate slumped unexpectedly to the nine-year low of 4.5%. Meanwhile, the modest employment growth, which slowed to 0.5% from 2.2% seen in the Q3, provided more signs that pressure on inflation and wages would remain benign, allowing the RBNZ to keep rates unchanged.
Historical Data Table: NZ Unemployment Rate | Economic Calendar for 07.02.2018 | ||||||||
Date | 31.01.2017 | 02.05.2018 | 01.08.2017 | 31.10.2017 | 06.02.2018 | 1:30 PM | Canadian Building Permits | ||
Actual | 5.20% | 4.90% | 4.80% | 4.60% | 4.50% | 3:30 PM | Crude Oil Inventories | ||
Forecast | 4.80% | 5.10% | 4.80% | 4.70% | 4.70% | 8:00 PM | RBNZ Interest Rate Decision | ||
Initial Reaction on Main Pairs | SWFX Sentiment Indexes | ||||||||
Open Price | Close Price | % Change | Longs | Shorts | |||||
AUD/NZD | 1.08069 | 1.07687 | -0.35% | AUD/NZD | 63.12% | 36.88% | |||
EUR/NZD | 1.69483 | 1.68696 | -0.46% | EUR/NZD | 26.65% | 73.35% | |||
GBP/NZD | 1.90956 | 1.90073 | -0.46% | GBP/NZD | 68.18% | 31.82% | |||
NZD/USD | 0.73058 | 0.7341 | 0.48% | NZD/USD | 34.69% | 65.31% |