The NZD was the strongest performer amongst its peers on Friday. The NZD/USD ended the week around 0.8280. The NZD/USD drifted lower into the much anticipated US payrolls release on Friday night. Payrolls beat the official consensus (203k vs. 185k) (see Majors and Fixed Interest). On the release, the NZD gapped lower along with most of its peers as the USD index showed a knee-jerk surge higher. This proved short-lived. Having fallen below 0.8150, the NZD/USD soon bounced back, gaining momentum in the early hours of Saturday morning. The NZD appeared to benefit from the improvement in general risk appetite. Our risk appetite index (scale 0-100%) rebounded from 61 to 65% as equities on both sides of the Atlantic provided solid returns.
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