NZ Dollar Weakens After RBNZ Expands QE

The NZ dollar lost ground against its major rivals in the Asian session on Wednesday, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand expanded its bond-buying programme to help combat the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and suggested that negative rates could be "an option in future."

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised the large scale asset purchase programme potential to NZ$60 billion from NZ$33 billion.

Policymakers maintained the Official Cash Rate, or OCR, at 0.25 percent, as widely expected.

The monetary policy will continue to provide significant support through keeping interest rates low for the foreseeable future, the bank said.

The committee observed that a negative interest rate will become an option in future, but currently, expansion to asset purchase programme is the most effective way to deliver further stimulus.

The bank said it is prepared to use additional monetary policy tools if and when needed, including reducing the OCR further, adding other types of assets to the LSAP programme, and providing fixed term loans to banks.

The NZD/USD pair recorded a 6-day low of 0.6000, compared to Tuesday's closing quote of 0.6076. The kiwi is seen finding support around the 0.57 mark.

The kiwi depreciated to a 6-day low of 64.32 against the yen, after having strengthened to 65.37 at 10:00 pm ET. The pair had closed Tuesday's deals at 65.09. Next key support for the kiwi is likely seen around the 60.00 level.

Data from the Bank of Japan showed that Japan overall bank lending rose 3.0 percent on year in April, coming in at 553.486 trillion yen.

That's up sharply from the 2.0 percent annual increase in March.

After rising to a weekly high of 1.0616 at 10:00 pm ET, the kiwi declined to a 6-month low of 1.0776 against the aussie. At yesterday's trading close, the pair was quoted at 1.0647. The kiwi is likely to face support around the 1.09 region, if it falls again.

Survey data from Westpac showed that Australia's consumer confidence recovered in May from a very low level.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment rose to 88.1 in May from 75.6 in April.

The kiwi slipped to a 9-day low of 1.8072 against the euro, pulling away from a high of 1.7801 seen at 10:00 pm ET. The euro-kiwi pair was worth 1.7846 at Tuesday's close. Should the kiwi falls further, it is likely to test support around the 1.86 region.

Looking ahead, Eurozone industrial production for March is due in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. PPI for April is scheduled for release.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will deliver a speech about current economic issues at a webinar organized by the Peterson Institute for International Economics at 8:00 am ET.

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