New Zealand bonds rally at close as investors defy improvement in GDT price index

The New Zealand bonds rallied at the time of closing Wednesday after investors largely shrugged off the improvement in the country’s GlobaldairyTrade (GDT) price auction, held overnight. 

At the time of closing, the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond, which moves inversely to its price, slumped 4-1/2 basis points to 2.98 percent, the yield on 7-year note also plunged 4-1/2 basis points to 2.87 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year note ended 3 basis points lower at 2.05 percent.

Global dairy prices continued to moderate after a strong run earlier in the year at a fortnightly auction on Wednesday, although closely watched whole milk powder prices rose. The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) Price Index dipped 0.4 percent, with an average selling price of NZD3,303 per tonne, in the auction held in the early hours of Wednesday. The index had slipped 0.8 percent at the previous sale.

The NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion for the June quarter generally pointed towards continued firm economic conditions. After adjusting for normal seasonal variations, a net 18 percent of businesses reported that trading conditions have improved over the past three months, and a net 23 percent expect that they will continue to. Both of those results are down a little from the levels seen earlier this year. Nevertheless, trading conditions remain healthy, consistent with solid economic growth through mid-2017.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index closed 0.33 percent lower at  7,595.67 while at 06:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained neutral at -19.33 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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