THE TAKEAWAY: Performance of Manufacturing Index Fell to 54.5 from 57.7 > Awaiting the Results of Aussie Employment and Chinese GDP Data, Neither Markets Nor Traders Moved by Release > NZDUSD Shows Little Reaction
Data released by the Bank of New Zealand shows that business sentiment in the manufacturing sector fell during March. The performance of manufacturing index (PMI) fell to 54.5 from 57.7, where the measure stood at the beginning of last month. Falling from a two year high in February, the PMI change was driven by drops in production and new orders. Production decreased by 5.5 points to 56.4, and new orders dropped 7.0 points to 56.2.
Traders appeared to be more interested in other reports, due out later in the day, more indicative of the market’s risk-on/risk-off attitude. Both Australian employment and Chinese GDP data are due within the next 36 hours.
The Kiwi had been trading sideways over the last few days; and, though the data release was slightly negative, the figure did not initiate a discernible trend. In the moments after the data’s release, the NZDUSD made a small jump from 0.8182 to 0.8183.
