THE TAKEAWAY: New Zealand releases January card spending numbers > Card spending 1.2%> [NZD rises slightly]
On February 9th, the New Zealand government announced that January card spending had increased by 1.0% MoM, the latest in a string of economic indicators pointing to a tepid economic recovery. The official numbers beat the consensus estimate of 0.7% month-over-month growth. This implies that, although the New Zealand economy is still growing slowly, it is doing so quicker than analyst estimates. Retail card spending was also up 1.2%, beating the consensus of 0.5% MoM growth.
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The Kiwi was slightly up against the dollar, as the news, although beating estimates, was of negligible impact. However, the Kiwi has gained in recent days after last week’s trade surplus increased by an unexpected amount, showing the strength of the manufacturing economy in New Zealand. A host of economic indicators point to the fact that New Zealand is in a decent position to weather global financial storms and therefore, the Kiwi, unlike both the Euro and the Greenback, is not at risk of substantial depreciation relative to competing currencies.
