Economy Watch

Kia ora.

Welcome to Thursday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

Today we lead with news the US-announced ceasefire with Iran is struggling to hold, with Iran accusing the US and Israel of violations, and Iran launching attacks (counter-attacks?) on Gulf state assets. Israel seems very uncommitted to the US claims. There are thousands of ships waiting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, but they must first pass Iran's new gatekeeper reviews.

The oil price has fallen back but only to mid-March levels and still +50% higher than the levels that prevailed at the start of March. And this is doing nothing to restore deliveries of refined product.

However, first in the US, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its March 18 meeting, which exposed how isolated Steven Miran is on that committee. In fact, some members were open to rate hikes at that time. The vast majority of participants judged that upside risks to inflation and downside risks to employment were elevated, and the majority noted that these risks had increased with developments in the Middle East. They saw the conflict in the Middle East would likely lead to more persistent increases in energy prices and these higher input costs would be more likely to pass through to core inflation. Those risks are likely still there since their meeting given that crude oil prices had risen from US$63/bbl to US$95/bbl when they met, and are at that same level today.

US mortgage applications stayed low last week, restrained by lower refi activity.

Meanwhile, and in an odd move against the mood shift today, investors got higher risk premiums for the US Treasury 10 year bond auctioned today. The median yield came in at 4.23%, compared to the 4.16% at the prior equivalent event a month ago.

In China, a surge in heavy truck sales, especially LNG and EV versions, is bolstering a view that 2026 will turn out positively for them. Some of this was just a rebound from a weak, holiday-affected February. But those truck sales were at a five year high in March.

Taiwan's CPI inflation rate showed no reaction to the events in March at all, which does seem a bit unusual and an outlier result.

There was an Indian central bank review of their monetary policy overnight, and they left their rate unchanged at 5.25%.

In Europe, they reported February producer prices fell -2.7% from a year ago. But this is mainly due to the February 2025 base being unusually elevated.

They also reported that EU retail sales volumes were up +1.7% in February from a year ago.

The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.28%, down -7 bps from yesterday.

The price of gold will start today up +US$64 at US$4740/oz. Silver is up +US$3 at US$75/oz.

American oil prices are down -US$20 at just on US$95/bbl, while the international Brent price is down -US$15, also at just on US$95/bbl. The traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is moving again, but only for those that pay Iran's 'reconstruction tax'. The US has effectively shifted this waterway from being open and free, to an Iranian asset and chokepoint.

The Kiwi dollar is up +120 bps from yesterday at this time at 58.3 USc. Against the Aussie we have risen +60 bps to 82.7 AUc. Against the euro we are up +70 bps at just on 49.9 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today up +100 bps from yesterday at just under 61.9.

The bitcoin price starts today at US$71,919 and up +4.6% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been high at just on +/- 3.3%.

You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.

Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we’ll do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora.

Welcome to Wednesday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

Today we lead with news most things are in abeyance until noon (NZT) when the latest Trump genocidal threats on Iran come to a head. Financial markets are waiting to see how this plays out. And of course the Strait of Hormuz is completely shut now. Commodity prices reflect that added pressure, fertiliser prices especially.

But first today, the overnight dairy auction brought a headline decline of -3.4% in USD terms, but that is only a -0.8% in USD terms. But actually things were better than this because these changes are from the prior full auction result three weeks ago. Today's results area actually gains from last week's dairy Pulse events for most items, including both SMP and WMP. The big drop however came for butter (-8.1%) and Mozzarella (-6.2%), both items that don't feature at the Pulse events. So, overall, today's dairy event is really one where prices have stabilised over the past few weeks. This is so, even though global dairy markets seem well-supplied from many sources.

In the US, their Logistics Managers Index has shot up in March to its highest since May 2022 in the pandemic. This is entirely due to a very sharp rise in freight costs, but a contraction in transportation capacity happened at the same time. Warehousing capacity contracted as well. PPI inflation is getting well embedded now.

Meanwhile, the weekly ADP employment Pulse report delivered an unexpected +26,000 jobs gain last week, the most since this new tracking started.

However, this was not supported by the latest (February) durable goods order report that fell much more than expected, down -1.4% from January and its third consecutive decline. That makes it just +0.8% higher than year-ago levels and well below the PPI inflation rate.

And it was also not supported by the April update of the RCM/TIPP sentiment survey of 'economic optimism' which fell to its lowest level since June 2024.

Meanwhile, US consumer inflation expectations jumped from 3.0% in February to 3.4% in March. This may not have been as r=high as you may have expected, but the survey period covered the whole month, so is likely restrained by early-month responses.

China said its FX reserves fell -US$85 bln in March from February to US$3.34 tln, mainly due to changes in the USD:CNY exchange rate rather than an actual fall in reserves. It is a pullback from the all-time record high in February, back to levels that have generally prevailed since September 2025. Within this, their gold holding rose for a 17th consecutive month.

In Australian, their Melbourne Institute Monthly Inflation Gauge recorded a significant jump in monthly inflation for March, up +1.3% from February. This was primarily influenced by an increase in transport, attributable to surging fuel prices. In annual terms, headline inflation reached +4.3% and has been at above the top-end of the 2–3% RBA target band for the past seven months. The monthly cost of living also increased in March, particularly for self-funded retirees.

The Australian service sector fell into contraction in March. It was a sharp fall from the February expansion. A drop in new orders and turbulent international conditions as a result of the war in the Middle East were the main reasons behind the fall in output. Making it hurt harder, inflationary pressures intensified.

The New York Fed's Global Supply Chain pressure index is rising, with the March result its highest since January 2023, although to be fair, so far the rises from May 2023 have all be quite gradual. Things could change quickly on that front, of course.

The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.35%, up +1 bp from yesterday.

The price of gold will start today back up +US$24 at US$4676/oz. Silver is down -US$1 at US$72/oz.

American oil prices are up +US$1 at just on US$115/bbl, while the international Brent price is down -50 USc at just under US$110/bbl.

The Kiwi dollar is essentially unchanged from yesterday at this time at 57.1 USc. Against the Aussie we have dropped -50 bps however to 82.1 AUc. Against the euro we are down -20 bps at just on 49.2 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today down -15 bps from yesterday at just under 60.9.

The bitcoin price starts today at US$68,728 and down -1.3% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been modest at just on +/- 1.7%.

Join us at 2pm this afternoon when the RBNZ is release its latest OCR review. While not rate change is expected, commentary on how they see the current oil crisis playing out with inflation will bring intense interest.

You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.

Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we’ll do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora.

Welcome to Tuesday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

Today we lead with news most of our trading partners are coming under much heavier input cost pressure, along with supply-chain disruption.

Meanwhile, US and Iran have rejected each other’s proposals to end the war. That is pushing up the price of oil. And in the US, the head of their largest bank is saying private credit losses will be much larger than most assume.

In the US, the widely-followed March ISM services PMI came in a touch lower than expected, and lower than for February. The strong activity component slowed very fast but is still expanding. This survey found employment contracting. It also found prices rising their fastest since October 2022. These firms are not waiting to push through recovery price increases this time.

Remember, The S&P Global services PMI released earlier found its first decline in activity since January 2023, employment was down amid their weakest rise in new orders for nearly two years. They also found steeper rises in both input costs and output prices in March. So very similar to the ISM version.

One of those input costs is fuel, and now petrol is up +38% and diesel is up +51% since the start of their war on Iran.

The Canadian services PMI is still contracting, extending that retreat to five straight months. However, the March shortfall was the least in that period. Inflation accelerated due to rising fuel and transportation costs Employment fell although overall confidence was up to six-month high.

The Singapore economy was still expanding at a moderate pace in March, but there were signs of slowdown. Their PMI dropped to its lowest seen in 2026 so far from softer growth in output and new orders. Input price inflation accelerated to a survey-record (ten year) high.

Singapore's retail sales fell in February from January on a seasonally-adjusted basis, down an unexpectedly large -4.1%. The year-on-year result isn't so relevant this month due to the skewed timing of Chinese New Year.

India's services PMI was still expanding fast in March, although continuing the receding growth trend they have had for more than eight months. Input price inflation climbed to a 45-month high and they had their weakest rise in new business and activity since January 2025. But they also had another strong upturn in services exports.

The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.34%, down -1 bp from yesterday. 

The price of gold will start today down -US$24 at US$4651/oz. Silver is holding at US$73/oz.

American oil prices are up +US$2.50 at just on US$114/bbl, while the international Brent price is up +US$1.50 at just under US$110.50/bbl, and still lower than US prices.

The Kiwi dollar is up +20 bps at 57.1 USc. Against the Aussie we have dipped -10 bps to 82.6 AUc. Against the euro we are unchanged at just on 49.5 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today up +15 bps from yesterday at just under 61.

The bitcoin price starts today at US$69,614 and up +3.4% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just on +/- 2.3%.

You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.

Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we’ll do this again tomorrow.

Kia ora.

Welcome to Thursday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

Today we lead with news Trump is about to make a national address (9pm NZT) where he is expected to claim Iran wants a ceasefire (which Iran immediately said was false). Many expect he will pull the US out of NATO as well (although Congress would have to agree for that to be effective). Despite the unhinged nature of it all, markets cheered the likely end of the pointless war he started.

Separately, on Saturday we will get the March US non-farm payrolls data which is expected to show a +60,000 gain. The ADP version of private sector employment was out today for March and that showed a similar modest rise (+62,000).

But we should also note that February official data for private sector hiring revealed a record low rate.

US mortgage applications fell sharply again last week, down a further -10.5% for a third consecutive big drop, which is unprecedented. Refi fell the hardest but new purchase activity was down sharply too. Rising interest rates continue there.

The widely-watched ISM factory PMI was little-changed in March from February with the same modest expansion recorded, as signaled in the alternate globally-benchmarked S&PGlobal version. The New Orders Index indicated slower growth compared to the previous month with new export orders actually in contraction. Both observed soaring inflationary pressures, back to pandemic levels.

US retail sales rose in February by +3.7% above the year-ago level. This month car sales led the increase. That is a real gain given that February CPI inflation ran at 2.4%.

In Canada their March factory PMI shows no growth, no decline.

The China S&P Global PMI expanded again, showing growth of output and new orders were maintained in March. But suppliers' delivery times lengthen the most since December 2022. And they also recorded their strongest inflationary pressures, since March 2022. Again, their PMI was slightly more upbeat than the official version.

Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia all recorded modest to good factory expansions in March in their respective factory PMIs, and all recorded higher inflation pressures.

Interestingly, the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey of businesses there for Q1-2026 shows little negative impact from the current geopolitical situation. Those firms surveyed remain quite upbeat.

In Europe, their eurozone factory PMI also expanded, and at a 45-month high. But the inflationary pressures were also very evident in their report.

In Australia, yesterday's national address by Prime Minister Albanese warned of a rocky road ahead due to their fuel crisis, and that urgent reforms are required, mainly because previous deregulation has left them uncomfortably vulnerable in this situation.

Separately, their main business trade association said their Industry Index fell 19.9 points in March to -23.6, the steepest monthly decline since the initial pandemic phase of early 2020. Industrial activity, employment, new orders and sales indicators all fell markedly in response to the emerging energy crisis. Uncertainty was the main factor, with 30% reporting volatility in fuel prices, freight and/or supply arrangements because of the energy crisis. More than a quarter (26%) of businesses said rising costs were a major pressure – in fuel, freight, raw materials, resins, plastics and packaging.

There was a surge in residential consents issued in Australia in February, with 19,022 issued. That is the most for any month since mid-2021. Of note is the rise in Victoria where over 6000 consents were issued. That compares to NSW's 4332 and Queensland's 3890 in February. It is notable that states with relatively lower new-build consenting are those with higher rises in house prices.

The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.31%, unchanged from yesterday. 

The price of gold will start today up +US$142 from yesterday, now at US$4783/oz. Silver is up +US$1.50 to US$76/oz.

American oil prices are down -US$1.50 at just on US$100/bbl, while the international Brent price is down -US$2.50 at just under US$102/bbl. Ship transit traffic in the Strait of Hormuz seem to be slowly returning, but on Iran's terms.

The Kiwi dollar is another +30 bps firmer against the USD from yesterday, now at 57.7 USc. Against the Aussie we are down another -10 bps at 83.1 AUc. We are up +40 bps against the yen. Against the euro we are up +10 bps at just on 49.7 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today up +20 bps at just over 61.4.

The bitcoin price starts today at US$68,837 and up +1.8% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just under +/- 1.5%.

You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.

Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we’ll do this again on Tuesday after the Easter holiday break.

Kia ora.

Welcome to Wednesday’s Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.

Today we lead with news the Americans are talking up apparent signals from Tehran that will allow them to declare victory and go home. Markets are taking all this at face-value.

But first today, there was a dairy Pulse auction overnight where prices dipped from the prior week with WMP down -1.5%, SMP down -1.9%, and butter down -6.8%. Results in NZD limited these USD drops.

In the US, the Conference Board's survey of consumer sentiment rose marginally in March from its recent lows. That was despite surging inflation expectations, now well over 5%, and a continuing decline in consumers' future expectations.

Meanwhile, US job openings in February retreated and by a bit more than expected. Quits fell too as job security fears rose. Hiring decreased.

The Chicago Business Barometer fell in March but from a near four-year high in February but the dip wasn't anticipated. Still, it is the third consecutive month of growth in Chicago's economic activity, rare since 2022, though the pace of expansion slowed significantly. New orders and output continued to grow, but at a slower pace, while jobs decreased.

However the Dallas Fed services PMI took quite a tumble to its steepest contraction in almost a year, and a big retreat from February for both their activity and outlook measures. Costs there are rising much faster than prices.

The US is getting no relief from petrol and diesel prices, as they hit another high milestone. The gap between WTI and Brent is unusually narrow at present.

In Canada, and perhaps unexpectedly. they reported a small expansion in economic activity in January from December (+0.1%) and a slightly faster expansion in February from January (-0.2%). In the face of the threats and bullying from their obnoxious southern neighbour, this is resilience that few expected.

In China, major property developer Vanke posted an enormous loss for 2025, and said it is facing a wall of funding maturities. Vanke has survived because of Shenzhen government ownership support, although that is being dialled back too.

Meanwhile, China reported better than expected industrial expansions, in their case for their official March factory PMI. And their services PMI also recorded improvement into expansion, again unexpected. Typically these official surveys have been more pessimistic than the unofficial ones from S&P Global, which won't be released for March until later today. They too are expected to record expansion.

Japanese data for industrial production and retail sales, both for February, sagged and by a bit morte than anticipated.

In Korea, they reported industrial production data that was surprisingly weak in February.

Global air passenger travel rose a strong +6.1% in February from the same month in 2025, bolstered by the timing of Chinese New Year. In fact, domestic travel within China in February was up +12.5%. Overall international passenger travel was up +5.9% with the Asia/Pacific region rising +8.6%. Likely much of this expansion will be upended now with the March disruptions and sentiment retreats.

The UST 10yr yield is now just on 4.31%, down -3 bps from yesterday.

The price of gold will start today up +US$94 from yesterday, now at US$4641/oz. Silver is up +US$4 to US$74.50/oz.

American oil prices are down -US$1 at just on US$101.50/bbl, while the international Brent price is down -US$7.50 at just on US$104.50/bbl. Ship transit traffic in the Strait of Hormuz seem to be slowly returning, but on Iran's terms.

The Kiwi dollar is +30 bps firmer against the USD from yesterday, now at 57.4 USc. Against the Aussie we are down another -20 bps at 83.2 AUc. We are down little-changed against the yen. Against the euro we are down -30 bps at just on 49.6 euro cents. That all means our TWI-5 starts today up +10 bps at just over 61.2.

The bitcoin price starts today at US$67,646 and up +0.4% from this time yesterday. Volatility over the past 24 hours has been moderate at just over +/- 1.8%.

You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.

Kia ora. I'm David Chaston and we’ll do this again tomorrow.