The pair traded slightly heavy in Asia on Friday after a sideways morning ran into some profit-taking on AUD/NZD and stops around the $0.9405 level in the outright around lunchtime. The AUD/NZD cross dropped from above $1.0990 to a low of $1.0969 with news from HSBC’s Paul Bloxham that they expect parity before year-end, a feat achieved briefly last on October 18th, 1973. Mr Bloxham said in a note to clients, and reported in the AFR, that “We expect New Zealand to continue to outperform Australia. We still think that New Zealand is the rockstar economy of 2015. It is still the fastest growing economy in the OECD this year – Australia isn’t.” However, the move was brief and a bounce has ensued, with the cross back to $1.0977 (down 9bps) and the AUD/USD at $0.9413 (down 6bps) in a $0.9425/$0.9408 range on the day. Orders are seen with sellers around $0.9425/30, then heavier at $0.9450 to $0.9510; buyers at $0.9400 but stops developing at $0.9385. Bigger buyers seen at $0.9350/70
