NZ dollar steady ahead of Consumer Sentiment
March 15, 2021SharePrint
The New Zealand dollar is in positive territory in the Monday session. Currently, NZD/USD is trading at 0.7186, up 0.17% on the day.
NZD looked strong throughout last week, but surrendered most of these gains on Friday, as the pair slid 0.74 per cent. It was a combination of economic data and US Treasury yields that sent the pair sharply lower to end the week. The BusinessNZ Manufacturing Index slowed to 53.4 in February, down from 57.5 beforehand. This points to weaker growth in the manufacturing sector. In the US, UoM Consumer Sentiment jumped to 83.0 in February, up from 76.2 a month earlier. The reading was much stronger than the estimate of 78.5 and was its highest level in 12 months. According to Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin, the strong reading was a result of the increasing number of vaccinated Americans, as well as anticipation over the Biden stimulus package. Meanwhile, US 10-year yields rose higher on Friday, boosting the US dollar.