Talking Points:
- 3Q New Zealand GDP narrowly beats expectations
- NZD/USD rallied after the data crossed the wires
- Economy growthbeat NZIER quarterly forecasts
Find Key Turning Points for the New Zealand Dollar with DailyFX SSI
The New Zealand Dollar edged higher against its US counterpart after the island nation’s third quarter gross domestic product crossed the wires. The data showed that the country’s economy grew 0.9 percent (QoQ) in the third quarter of 2015 beating the 0.8 percent forecasted by economists. This was also the fastest pace of quarterly growth in one year. On a yearly basis, the country’s GDP grew 2.3 percent which is in line with analysts’ expectations.
This past Monday, New Zealand’s Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) published its quarterly consensus forecast. It predicted that the island nation’s economy would expand 0.6 percent (QoQ) in the third quarter of 2015. Today’s GDP release beat that estimate as well.
Last week the Reserve Bank of New Zealand signaled an end to near-term easing. Today’s in-line GDP release likely did little to alter-near term monetary policy expectations. Indeed, New Zealand government bond yields were relatively flat after the event. Overnight index swaps are pricing in no adjustments to the central bank’s official cash rate at its next meeting in January.