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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. Additionally, China's GDP data may have an impact on the markets.
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.