The NZD was largely unchanged Monday after market participants gave little attention to local trade data released earlier in the day.
Statistics New Zealand Monday said the trade deficit was NZ$308 million in November, slightly wider than a revised NZ$228 million deficit in October. The result was largely in line with economists’ median expectation of a deficit of NZ$300 million.
The NZD kept to a tight trading range against its USD Monday, reaching a high of US$0.7809 and a low of US$0.7781.
The market would be looking offshore for further trading cues, such as a meeting later in the global day between French President Sarkozy and German Chancellor Merkel. More important will be Italian and Spanish bond auctions and monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday.
A decision from the Sarkozy-Merkel meeting or the successful completion of the bond auctions will likely boost risk sentiment and help the NZD.
EasyForexNews Research Team