Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar tumbled to a five month low against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, as investors shunned riskier assets in favor of the safety of the greenback as concerns over the deepening crisis in the euro zone weighed.
NZD/USD hit 0.7520 on Friday, the pair’s lowest since December 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7556 by close of trade on Friday, down 3.42% on the week.
The pair is likely to find support at 0.7460, the low of December 15 and resistance at 0.7648, Friday’s high.
Demand for the safety of the greenback remained supported as fears over the possibility of a Greek exit from the euro zone dominated market sentiment, after cross party talks aimed at forming a coalition government failed, forcing another round of elections.
Market sentiment found some support on Friday after an opinion poll in Greece indicated that pro-bailout party, New Democracy was leading the polls ahead of the fresh elections, due to be held on June 17.
Meanwhile, concerns over the health of Spain’s banking system and the prospect of more state bailouts for lenders saw the country’s borrowing costs climb above 6% last week. On Thursday, ratings agency Moody's cut the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks.
On Monday, official data showed that retail sales in New Zealand fell sharply in the first quarter, declining 1.5%, after increasing by 2.2% in the preceding quarter when a large number of international visitors came for the Rugby World Cup.
Analysts had expected retail sales to decline by 0.5% in the three months to March.
In the U.S., Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s May meeting indicated that several policymakers remained open to further efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy if growth falters or if the risks to the economy became great enough.
Data on Thursday showing that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region contracted for the first time in eight months in May added to concerns over the pace of the U.S. economic recovery.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that it’s manufacturing index dropped by 14.3 points to minus 5.8 in May from the previous months reading of 8.5.
Analysts had expected the index to rise by 1.5 points to 10.0 in May.
A separate report showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. in the week before last held steady at a seasonally adjusted 370,000, confounding expectations for a decline of 5,000 to 365,000.
In the week ahead, investors will be looking ahead to Thursday’s U.S. data on manufacturing orders, as they attempt to gauge the strength of the U.S. recovery, while developments in the euro zone are also likely to remain in focus.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets. The guide skips Monday, as there are no relevant events on this day.
Tuesday, May 22
New Zealand is to release official data on inflation expectations, a leading indicator of economic sentiment.
The U.S. is to release industry data on existing home sales, a leading indicator of economic health.
Wednesday, May 23
The U.S. is to produce government data on new home sales, a leading indicator of economic health, as well as official data on crude oil stockpiles.
Thursday, May 24
New Zealand is to publish official data on the trade balance, while the government is to make its annual budget statement.
Also Thursday, the U.S. is to release official data on core durable goods orders, as well as a report on initial jobless claims, both leading indicators of economic health.
Friday, May 25
The U.S. is to round up the week with revised data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.
NZD/USD hit 0.7520 on Friday, the pair’s lowest since December 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7556 by close of trade on Friday, down 3.42% on the week.
The pair is likely to find support at 0.7460, the low of December 15 and resistance at 0.7648, Friday’s high.
Demand for the safety of the greenback remained supported as fears over the possibility of a Greek exit from the euro zone dominated market sentiment, after cross party talks aimed at forming a coalition government failed, forcing another round of elections.
Market sentiment found some support on Friday after an opinion poll in Greece indicated that pro-bailout party, New Democracy was leading the polls ahead of the fresh elections, due to be held on June 17.
Meanwhile, concerns over the health of Spain’s banking system and the prospect of more state bailouts for lenders saw the country’s borrowing costs climb above 6% last week. On Thursday, ratings agency Moody's cut the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks.
On Monday, official data showed that retail sales in New Zealand fell sharply in the first quarter, declining 1.5%, after increasing by 2.2% in the preceding quarter when a large number of international visitors came for the Rugby World Cup.
Analysts had expected retail sales to decline by 0.5% in the three months to March.
In the U.S., Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s May meeting indicated that several policymakers remained open to further efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy if growth falters or if the risks to the economy became great enough.
Data on Thursday showing that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region contracted for the first time in eight months in May added to concerns over the pace of the U.S. economic recovery.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that it’s manufacturing index dropped by 14.3 points to minus 5.8 in May from the previous months reading of 8.5.
Analysts had expected the index to rise by 1.5 points to 10.0 in May.
A separate report showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. in the week before last held steady at a seasonally adjusted 370,000, confounding expectations for a decline of 5,000 to 365,000.
In the week ahead, investors will be looking ahead to Thursday’s U.S. data on manufacturing orders, as they attempt to gauge the strength of the U.S. recovery, while developments in the euro zone are also likely to remain in focus.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets. The guide skips Monday, as there are no relevant events on this day.
Tuesday, May 22
New Zealand is to release official data on inflation expectations, a leading indicator of economic sentiment.
The U.S. is to release industry data on existing home sales, a leading indicator of economic health.
Wednesday, May 23
The U.S. is to produce government data on new home sales, a leading indicator of economic health, as well as official data on crude oil stockpiles.
Thursday, May 24
New Zealand is to publish official data on the trade balance, while the government is to make its annual budget statement.
Also Thursday, the U.S. is to release official data on core durable goods orders, as well as a report on initial jobless claims, both leading indicators of economic health.
Friday, May 25
The U.S. is to round up the week with revised data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.