Forex - Kiwi gains on retail sales, China lending data possible ahead

Investing.com - The Kiwi picked up in Asian trade Thursday on solid retail sales data with investors eyeing possible China lending figures.

NZD/USD traded at 0.7528, up 0.55%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.8109, down 0.01%, and USD/JPY changed hands at 119.24, up 0.08%.

First quarter retail sales in New Zealand rose 2.7% quarter-on-quarter, well above the 1.5% gain expected, and a quarterly record, sowing the seeds for some doubt about a possible central bank rate cut later this year.

In Japan at 1500 (0600 GMT), the ESP forecast survey of economists on Japan's GDP and CPI outlook is due. An hour later, at 1600 (0700 GMT), the BoJ is due to hold a repo market forum with market participants.

There's also a chance China will release April money and credit data. forecasts show a slight dip in April new loans to a respectable CNY950 billion after March's reasonably strong CNY1.18 trillion while M2 is thought to have grown 11.9% against 11.6% in March.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.05% to 93.69.

Overnight, the dollar dropped to three-month lows against a basket of other major currencies on Wednesday, after data showed that U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in April fuelling fresh concerns over the strength of the country's recovery.

The Commerce Department said retail sales were unchanged, compared to expectations for a 0.2% increase. March’s figure was revised up to show a 1.1% increase from 0.9%, but this was offset by underlying weakness in the report.

Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose just 0.1%, undershooting forecasts for a 0.5% gain.

The data underlined expectations that the Federal Reserve will delay hiking rates until later in the year, after recent figures showed that the U.S. economy expanded just 0.2% in the first quarter.