The post New Zealand’s Retail Sales rise 0.5% QoQ in Q1 vs. -0.3% expected appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

New Zealand’s Retail Sales, a measure of the country’s consumer spending, rose 0.5% QoQ in the first quarter of 2024 from the previous reading of a 1.8% fall, according to the official data published by Statistics New Zealand on Thursday. The figure came in better than market expectations with a decline of 0.3%. Market reaction The New Zealand Dollar NZD) attracts some buyers following the upbeat Retail Sales data. The NZD/USD pair is up 0.09% on the day at 0.6102.  New Zealand Dollar FAQs The New Zealand Dollar (NZD), also known as the Kiwi, is a well-known traded currency among investors. Its value is broadly determined by the health of the New Zealand economy and the country’s central bank policy. Still, there are some unique particularities that also can make NZD move. The performance of the Chinese economy tends to move the Kiwi because China is New Zealand’s biggest trading partner. Bad news for the Chinese economy likely means less New Zealand exports to the country, hitting the economy and thus its currency. Another factor moving NZD is dairy prices as the dairy industry is New Zealand’s main export. High dairy prices boost export income, contributing positively to the economy and thus to the NZD. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) aims to achieve and maintain an inflation rate between 1% and 3% over the medium term, with a focus to keep it near the 2% mid-point. To this end, the bank sets an appropriate level of interest rates. When inflation is too high, the RBNZ will increase interest rates to cool the economy, but the move will also make bond yields higher, increasing investors’ appeal to invest in the country and thus boosting NZD. On the contrary, lower interest rates tend to weaken NZD. The so-called rate differential, or how rates in New…

---

Filed under: News - @ May 23, 2024 5:28 am