The Kiwi strengthened against the US Dollar on New Zealand’s retail sales data on Wednesday. The NZD/USD currency pair rose 0.14% or 10 base points to 0.6890 to continue fluctuating in the 0.6880 area.
Statistics New Zealand stated that the country’s retail sales growth slowed markedly in the Q3 due to sings that a slowdown in the property market dented consumer optimism, pointing to a weaker spending in the course of the year ahead. The report showed that retail sales volumes grew a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in the September quarter, mostly affected by a 3.1% decrease in spending on food and beverages. The results are set to reinforce the RBNZ resolve to maintain the key interest rate at a record low level of 1.75%.
