Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Forex - NZD/USD Pair Gains Almost 1% After RBNZ Holds Rates Unchanged

Published 02/12/2020, 12:17 AM
Updated 02/12/2020, 12:18 AM
© Reuters.

© Reuters.

By Alex Ho

Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar gained almost 1% against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday in Asia after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) left interest rates unchanged as expected and said forecasts showed no chance of a cut this year.

The NZD/USD pair last traded at 0.6456 by 12:05 AM ET (04:05 GMT), up 0.9%.

Meanwhile, the AUD/USD pair traded 0.2% higher at 0.6728 as the Westpac Consumer Sentiment Index jumped by 2.3% to 95.5 in February. In January, the index had fallen by 1.8% to 93.4. Economists had forecast a more modest 1.4% rise.

The U.S. dollar index inched up 0.1% to 98.657. Overnight, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed is watching the coronavirus impact carefully, without hinting that any imminent action was needed, claiming he wanted to "resist the temptation to speculate" about the potential disruptions from the outbreak.

"'What will be the effects on the U.S. economy?' 'Will they be persistent?' 'Will they be material?' That’s really the question," Powell said.

On the data front, the U.S. Labor Department's latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report, a measure of labor demand, showed job openings in January fell to about 6.43 million, missing expectations of 7 million.

The EUR/USD pair was little changed at 1.0911. Industrial production figures are due out of the Eurozone later today.

The USD/CNY pair was also near flat at 6.9626. On the coronavirus front, China said the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose to 1,113 as of Feb. 11, with 97 additional fatalities reported. Confirmed cases of the disease in mainland China rose to 44,653.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.