Page 6 - Craig Ebert News Today

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment.

The services sector in New Zealand slipped into contraction territory in April, BusinessNZ said on Monday with a Performance of Services Index score of 49.8. That's down from the downwardly revised 53.

The rate of new orders and sales in the services sector softened in April.

Covid-era spending and urgent infrastructure investments may force future governments to carry more debt than previous ones

Monetary policymakers are hoping for a no-thrills budget that helps them dampen inflation

Labour market figures to be released this week will likely show unemployment levels largely unchanged, but economists and the Reserve Bank are still expecting 'slack' to start emerging in the labour force as the year goes on

The rate of expansion in the services sector has slowed as the number of new orders and business drops to its lowest level in almost a year.

Asian trading remains relatively subdued today, with the exception of Yen's ongoing selloff. Meanwhile, Dollar attempts a weak recovery, while Euro and New Zealand Dollar are softer for now. The focus may shift away from the greenback this week, as significant data releases from other regions take center stage. Specifically, CPI data from the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan will be in the spotlight, while PMIs from Australia, Japan, the Eurozone, and the UK will also be closely monitored...

New Zealand's service sector growth slowed down in March, with the BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) declining to 54.4 from 55.8 in February. However, the index stayed above the long-term average of 53.6.

Multiple themes are unfolding in the markets today without any one taking center stage. Dollar is gaining strength, particularly against Yen, supported by an extended rebound in Treasury yields. Euro, on the other hand, is losing ground to the Pound after failing to break through a key near-term resistance level, which also weighs on the common currency against the greenback. Meanwhile, Aussie continues to rally against Kiwi, but no significant movement is observed elsewhere.