Gobble Gobble, it’s American Thanksgiving! Well, it was yesterday at least, which meant US markets were closed overnight. As American’s fall into a turkey-fuelled slumber, the Kiwi dollar seems to be in somewhat of a food coma as well with no significant movements. It is up on this time last week though, which is great news for NZ travellers. With this in mind, one Kiwi dollar will buy you:
0.6308 US dollars
68.0715 Japanese yen
0.5638 euros
0.4802 Great British pound
18.4522 Thai Baht
0.9261 Australian dollars
13,458.2 Vietnamese Dong
At Travel Money NZ we’re thankful for our Rate Move Guarantee. It’s free, and if the rate improves within 14 days of purchase we will refund you the difference!
What is impacting the Kiwi dollar?
US/China trade war
Thanksgiving market closure today didn’t stop the US from having a busy start to the week.
Late Wednesday night US President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that supports protestors in Hong Kong. The bill expresses support for the HK protesters, requiring an annual review of Hong Kong’s special trade status under American law. It also sanctions against any officials responsible for abuses against human rights or actions that undermine the cities autonomy from China. In addition to this, Trump signed the Protect Hong Kong Act that bans the sale of American munitions to Hong Kong law enforcement.
Trump’s decision to sign the bills resulted in strong disapproval from China, who said it would take “firm countermeasures”, viewing it as interference in an internal matter.
The events have put the success of a partial trade deal between the US and China in question, with many worried it will halt negotiations. While this has slightly dampened market sentiment and added slight downward pressure to the value of the Kiwi dollar, markets aren’t too concerned that it will negatively impact a trade deal between the two countries. Why? Well, China kinda knew that Trump would sign the bill last week and negotiations have continued. Likewise, a Chinese academic said, “it does spoil the mood, but it shouldn’t interfere with the trade talks”.
Fingers crossed this is the case, and the partial trade deal continues. If it doesn’t the value of the Kiwi dollar will almost definitely take a hit.
Brexit and the UK election
While the events in the UK haven’t directly impacted the value of the Kiwi dollar, they have given the pound a slight boost.
With less than two weeks until the UK election, the YouGov-MRP poll showed that Conservatives could win a majority of 68 seats. This was good news for the GBP, which increased in value after the poll results.
However, there has been a late surge of almost 3.1million people enrolling to vote, 1.2milion of which are under 25 years. Why does this matter? Those under 25 tend to vote in Labour’s favour, with many being encouraged by celebrities like Stormzy. While it is unlikely that Labour will win with a majority, there is a chance they could scrape through with enough seats to gain a minority which would, once again, put the UK at a standstill with Brexit.
Things will no doubt ramp up over the next fortnight, so strap yourselves in as the Brexit mess is about to become news again.
Domestic News
The New Zealand economy has had some positive news this week with a run of better than expected data released.
Building permits contracted by only -1.1% instead of the forecast -2.5%, and consumer confidence improved on last month going from 118 to 120.7. These come in addition to improved PMIs and higher commodity prices.
While this data is great news, it hasn’t had a significant effect on the value of the NZ, which continues to be primarily influenced by global markets and the trade war.
As markets reopen for Friday trade in the USA, all eyes will turn to see if there are any significant changes to the state of the trade war. Fingers crossed this is not the case, and everyone is still in a haze of turkey and pecan pie.
This blog is provided for information only and does not take into consideration your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether the information and suggestions contained in any blog entry are appropriate for you, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs. While we take reasonable care in providing the blog, we give no warranties or representations that it is complete or accurate, or is appropriate for you. We are not liable for any loss caused, whether due to negligence or otherwise, arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information and/or suggestions contained in this blog. All rates are quoted from the Travel Money NZ website and are valid as of November 29 2019. Terms and conditions apply to Rate Move Guarantee.
