Data sends sterling lower, New Zealand dollar higher

With producer price inflation figures weaker than had been anticipated in the UK, sterling was lower in Monday trade. The new data shows that input prices were up just 0.7 percent in April. They had been expected to rise by 1 percent. The UK currency dropped 0.2 percent versus both the US dollar and the euro in mid-afternoon trade in New York, to $1.9800 and £0.6840 respectively.

The New Zealand dollar was up versus both the yen and the US dollar on new data showing that retail sales there were up by 1.3 percent in March. The gain was unexpected, as most analysts expected that sales would drop slightly in the month. The new data has some analysts expecting the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to raise interest rates again soon. The kiwi was 0.6 percent higher in relation to the greenback, to $0.7386, while it gained 0.9 percent to ¥88.93 versus the yen.

Story link: Data sends sterling lower, New Zealand dollar higher