Oil prices have bounced on fear the conflict in Gaza and Israel could spread to Iran. The Aussie and Kiwi dollars are firmer this morning on softer market expectations for a Fed rate hike in either November or December.
In our bonus deep-dive interview, ANZ’s NZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner previews New Zealand’s election this Saturday.
5 things to know
Brent oil prices rose 5% in the last 48 hours to nearly US$89/bbl barrel on fear the conflict in Gaza and Israel could widen to Iran, says ANZ’s Senior Commodities Strategist Daniel Hynes.
Market expectations the Fed will hike by December have halved overnight to barely 25% after Fed officials commented higher bond yields will help do the Fed’s work, says ANZ’s Head of G3 Economics Brian Martin.
The A$ is up at 63.80 USc this morning from as low as 63.30 yesterday. The NZ$ is just above 60 USc and up from 59.35 yesterday. ANZ’s Head of FX Research Mahjabeen Zaman says high rates won’t always support the US$.
European bond yields fell as much as 10 bps on fresh ECB official talk that rates don’t need to rise more, says Brian.
China has loosened restrictions on physical gold imports, which is easing pressure on the physical premium for gold in China, says Daniel.
Cheers
Bernard
PS: Catch you tomorrow with the latest Australian business confidence survey results due later today.
