The
Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars are all stronger today despite the
fact that gold prices are flat and oil prices are lower. Canadian data has been extremely firm
with productivity increasing 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, which compares
to the market’s expectation for a 0.3 percent drop.
Australian
data was mixed. Home loans were
weaker than expected but investment lending and the Manpower Employment survey
were stronger. Data patterns
in New Zealand was the same with food prices growing by a meager 0.1 percent in
February while the Manpower Employment survey increased from 25 to 32
percent. Generally speaking, the
labor market is tight in both Australia and New
Zealand, spurring speculation that Australia could resurrect its
monetary policy tightening later this year. There is no Canadian data tomorrow, but
New Zealand is expected to
report retail sales while Australia release its business
confidence survey. Even though
softer readings are expected for both, the tightness of the labor market and
continually hawkish comments from RBNZ Governor Bollard still leaves scope for
an upside surprise.