2017.01.1800:54:00UTC+00New Zealand Bonds rise Modestly ahead of Q4 Cpi Data, Shrug Off Recovery in Dairy Prices

The New Zealand government bonds modestly rose Wednesday as investors await the release of the fourth quarter consumer price inflation data, scheduled to be released on Thursday. Also, market participants have largely shrugged off the slight recovery in dairy prices at the global dairy trade price auction held late yesterday

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond, which moves inversely to its price, fell 1 basis point to 3.12 percent, the yield on 7-year note also edged lower 1 basis point to 2.81 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year note moved down 1 basis point to 2.22 percent.

The New Zealand headline inflation is likely to have accelerated in the fourth quarter. According to an ANZ research report, the headline CPI is expected to have accelerated 0.3 percent sequentially, a tad above RBNZ’s November MPS pick of 0.2 percent. Annual inflation is anticipated to rise to 1.2 percent.

In contrast, during last night’s GlobalDairyTrade auction, dairy prices remained widely stable. In all, prices were up 0.6 percent, after previous auction’s 3.5 percent decline. After a 7.7 percent decline last auction, prices of whole milk powder remained stable, falling slightly by 0.1 percent to USD 3,282/tonne.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX50 Index closed 0.05 percent lower at 7,059.27, while at 5:00 GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained highly bullish for second straight day at 100.18 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex