Japan Declines Comment on BOJ’s Absence From Global Support Statement for Fed Chair Powell. Source: Asturio Cantabrio, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
U.S. Urges Japan on Monetary Policy as Yen Volatility Raises Market Concerns 
MAS Holds Monetary Policy Steady as Strong Growth Raises Inflation Risks 
Jerome Powell Attends Supreme Court Hearing on Trump Effort to Fire Fed Governor, Calling It Historic 
China Holds Loan Prime Rates Steady in January as Market Expectations Align 
Bank of England Expected to Hold Interest Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Remains Elevated 
RBA Deputy Governor Says November Inflation Slowdown Helpful but Still Above Target 
Markets React as Tensions Rise Between White House and Federal Reserve Over Interest Rate Pressure 
U.S. Prosecutors Investigate Fed Chair Jerome Powell Over Headquarters Renovation 
Bank of Korea Expected to Hold Interest Rates as Weak Won Limits Policy Easing 
The RBNZ is expected to remain on hold through this year at least, and that seems to quite agreeable. As a result, that should cap 2yr NZ yields at 2.30%, while a slight loss of economic momentum, both in NZ and in developed economies could see the lower bound at 1.95% tested occasionally as markets flirt with a rate cut.
In view of that, contemplating the 2019 outlook, it has been adopted a cautiously defensive position in part expressed through short NZDUSD. While we uphold our NZD shorts given expectations of a dovish-to-unchanged monetary policy and also given its sensitivity to global growth. The main event this week for New Zealand was the soft 4Q CPI report.
We don’t think this justifies a rate cut from the RBNZ in 2019, even though we do expect downgrades to inflation (mostly on oil) and growth and thus a dovish spin on the outlook (4Q CPI not quite the spark for the RBNZ). Please be noted that the AED we recommended back in November, we still retain short NZDUSD exposure in the outright spot. Courtesy: JPM
Currency Strength Index: FxWirePro's hourly NZD spot index is inching towards -153 levels (which is bearish), while hourly USD spot index was at 91 (bullish) while articulating (at 09:16 GMT).
For more details on the index, please refer below weblink: http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
