The commodity currencies all raced higher today, but the story is undoubtedly in the Australian dollar.
The Aussie hit a new 25 year high against the US dollar and a 7 year high against the New Zealand dollar. Although there was no Australian data released overnight, the country’s diverging economic performance with the US and New Zealand has sent money pouring into Australian dollars. Retail sales in New Zealand fell by their steepest pace in over 4 years while the manufacturing PMI index contracted for the third time in four months, adding to signs that the New Zealand economy is in for a recession. NZD Consumer prices are due for release this evening along with the minutes from the RBA’s most recent monetary policy meeting. These numbers should continue to lift AUD/NZD.
