2019.08.0203:04:00UTC+00NZ Dollar Weakens On Trade Woes

The NZ dollar fell against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, as Asian stock markets declined following the overnight losses on Wall Street amid an escalation in the trade dispute between the U.S. and China after President Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 10 percent tariff on the remaining $300 billion worth of Chinese imports.

Investors worried about the impact of the U.S.-China trade war on global growth and company profits.

News that the Japanese government has approved removing South Korea from the so-called "white list" of countries entitled to receive preferential treatment in trade also dampened investor sentiment.

Survey data from ANZ showed that New Zealand's consumer confidence deteriorated in July.

The consumer confidence index fell to 116.4 in July from 122.6 in June.

The kiwi declined to 0.6537 against the greenback, from a high of 0.6561 hit at 8:45 pm ET. If the kiwi slides further, it may find support around the 0.64 level.

The kiwi fell to 69.94 against the yen, its lowest since December 2018. On the downside, 67.00 is possibly seen as the next support level for the kiwi.

The minutes from the Bank of Japan's monetary policy held on June 19 and 20 showed that policymakers discussed further easing as most members shared the view that it was appropriate to persistently continue with the powerful monetary easing.

"The key to overcoming deflation was for the Bank to maintain its stance of taking some kind of policy response if any changes emerged in the baseline scenario of the outlook for prices," the minutes said.

The NZ dollar slipped to more than a 3-week low of 1.6958 against the euro, after rising to 1.6882 at 5:00 pm ET. The kiwi is seen finding support around the 1.745 level.

The kiwi weakened to 1.0420 against the aussie, from a 4-month high of 1.0360 it touched at 5:45 pm ET. The next possible support for the kiwi is seen around the 1.06 level.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia's retail sales grew at the fastest pace in four months in June.

Retail sales advanced 0.4 percent month-on-month in June, following a 0.1 percent rise in May. This was the fastest growth since February and better than the expected increase of 0.3 percent.

Looking ahead, Eurozone PPI and retail sales for June are due in the European session.

The U.S. and Canadian trade data for June, U.S. jobs data for July, durable goods orders for June and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for July are scheduled for release in the New York session.