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The New Zealand bonds slumped at the time of closing Wednesday after dairy prices rose at the overnight GlobalDairyTrade Price auction, reporting its second consecutive increase. Also, the country’s current account deficit narrowed in the second quarter as tourists poured in for high-profile international sports events.
At the time of closing, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, jumped 4 basis points to 3.08 percent, the yield on 7-year note rose 1/2 basis point to 2.93 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year also ended 1/2 basis point higher at 2.18 percent.
Dairy prices rose 0.9 percent at the latest global dairy auction (GDT) to reach an average of USD3368 (NZD4602) per tonne, with butter prices setting a fresh record high – the eighth this year. This was the second consecutive increase in the auction, following a 0.3 percent rise on September 5, and after two slight dips in August.
According to data released by Statistics New Zealand, the quarterly current account surplus was NZD618 million (USD452.31 million) in the three months to June, dwarfing the previous quarter's NZD221 million, with tourism driving a record-high service sector surplus of NZD1.3 billion.
New Zealand general election will be held on Saturday September 23. Current polling is pointing to a very close race between the incumbent right of centre National Party and the main centre-left opposition Labour Party. If the current government returns to power, it probably won’t have a big impact on our forecasts.
Meanwhile, the NZX 50 index ended 0.70 percent higher at 7,819.24, while at 06:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained highly bullish at 147.34 (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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