NZ Dollar Flies to Top After Employment Data Beats Expectations

The New Zealand dollar was the strongest currency on the Forex market during Asian and European hours of Wednesday’s trading after the release of better-than-expected employment data in New Zealand. Other news was positive for the kiwi as well for the most part, except for China’s disappointing services PMI.
Statistics New Zealand released a report on the labor market in the December quarter, which showed a very positive result. The number of employed New Zealanders increased by 0.6% versus an increase of 0.1% predicted by experts and a drop of 0.7% registered in the previous month. The unemployment rate dropped from 5.3% to 4.9%. That was a total surprise to specialists, who were expecting an increase to 5.6%. The Labor Cost Index was up 0.5%, the same as in the previous quarter and matching expectations. The participation rate was about flat at 70.2%.
Released yesterday, the Global Dairy Trade Price Index increased by 1.8% after rising by 4.8% in the previous reporting period.
The negative factor for the New Zealand currency was China’s macroeconomic data that showed a slowdown in the economic recovery of the Asian nation. The wellbeing of the Chinese economy is extremely important for the New Zealand economy as China is New Zealand’s biggest trading partner. Thus, economic news from the Asian nation tends to has a significant impact on the kiwi. But that was not the case today as the New Zealand currency shrugged off the bad news from China.
NZD/USD gained from 0.7190 to 0.7219 as of 8:10 GMT today. EUR/NZD declined from 1.6746 to 1.6677, trading near the lowest level since January 2020. NZD/CAD rallied from 0.9189 to 0.9216.
If you have any questions, comments, or opinions regarding the New Zealand Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Original from: www.earnforex.com