THE TAKEAWAY: Credit card spending increased 0.4% in May, +3.9% on the year > New Zealand Dollar little changed after taking a hit in the last 24 hours of trading.
The New Zealand Dollar was little changed after credit card spending increased by 0.4 percent in May and gained 3.9 percent year over year. Positive spending fell in line with the better than expected GDP growth over the same period.
Risk sensitive assets, including the higher yielding NZD, were sold-off over the last 24 hours of trading which was probably fueled in part by a soft German Purchasing Manager Index release and downgrades by Moody’s to fifteen international banks. The currency was slightly correcting its big move down earlier prior to the release and appears to have continued in the same direction.
