Aussie and Kiwi Bounce from Asian Session Lows

In New Zealand the calendar was empty but the run up to the RBNZ’s monetary policy decision could find Kiwi bid as a hike to 7.50% is widely expected and would put the recently-taboo carry trade significantly in the New Zealand dollar’s favor. Canadian data has been quite strong over the past week, and today was no exception as building permits surged 11.3%. However, the marquee event for Loonie was the BoC decision. Although the central bank stayed pat at 4.25%, the statement accompanying the decision had a slightly hawkish leaning with Governor Dodge and Co. citing underlying strength in the economy and “roughly balanced risks” to inflation projections.