NZ Dollar Strengthens After RBNZ Governor Orr Signals Addl. Easing

The NZ dollar spiked up against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Wednesday, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr signalled willingness to deploy additional monetary policy tools if needed to support the economy.

In a speech to the Victoria University of Wellington School of Government, Orr said that RBNZ is "actively preparing a package of additional monetary policy tools to use if needed".

The RBNZ chief said that its early policy actions such as a reduction in the Official Cash Rate and introduction of the QE programme has helped to lower interest rates across the board and ensure liquidity in the financial system.

Additional tools include "negative wholesale interest rates, further quantitative easing, direct lending to banks, and ongoing forward guidance," he added.

Data from Statistics New Zealand showed that New Zealand's merchandise terms of trade climbed a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2020.

That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.9 percent following the 0.7 percent decline in the three months prior.

The kiwi rallied to 1.7539 against the euro, its highest level since July 27. The kiwi may test resistance around the 1.71 level, if it rises again.

The kiwi appreciated to more than a 1-year high of 0.6789 against the greenback and a 7-1/2-month high of 71.98 against the yen, from Tuesday's closing values of 0.6757 and 71.59, respectively. The kiwi is seen finding resistance around 0.70 against the greenback and 74.00 against the yen.

The NZ currency hit more than a 3-week high of 1.0833 against the aussie and held steady thereafter. At yesterday's close, the pair was worth 1.0903.

Looking ahead, Eurozone PPI for July is due in the European session.

U.S. ADP private payrolls data for August is scheduled for release at 8:15 am ET.

U.S. factory orders for July are set for release in the New York session.