NZD: Firmer Thanks To Higher Equities, But Markets Await Tariff Announcement

Apr-01 21:32

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NZD/USD tracks near 0.5700 in early Wednesday dealings. The Kiwi was up 0.40% for Tuesday's session,...

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ASIA: Coming Up In The Asian Session On Monday

Mar-02 21:18
0030GMT0830HKT1130AEDTMalaysia Feb S&P Global Malaysia PMI Mfg
0030GMT0830HKT1130AEDTThailand Feb S&P Global Thailand PMI Mfg
0030GMT0830HKT1130AEDTTaiwan Feb S&P Global Taiwan PMI Mfg
0030GMT0830HKT1130AEDTIndonesia Feb S&P Global Indonesia PMI Mfg
0030GMT0830HKT1130AEDTPhilippines Feb S&P Global Philippines PMI Mfg
0145GMT0945HKT1245AEDTChina Feb Caixin China PMI Mfg
0400GMT1200HKT1500AEDTIndonesia Feb CPI
0200GMT1000HKT1300AEDTIndia Feb HSBC India PMI Mfg
0730GMT1530HKT1830AEDTThailand Feb Business Sentiment Index
0830GMT1630HKT1930AEDTHong Kong Jan Retail Sales

ASIA: Coming Up In The Asia-Pac Session On Monday

Mar-02 21:11
2145GMT0545HKT0845AEDTNew Zealand 4Q Terms of Trade Index
2200GMT0600HKT0900AEDTAustralia Feb S&P Global Australia PMI Mfg
0000GMT0800HKT1100AEDTAustralia Feb Melbourne Institute Inflation
0030GMT0830HKT1130AEDTAustralia 4Q Company Operating Profit 
0030GMT0830HKT1130AEDTJapan Feb Jibun Bank Japan PMI Mfg
0030GMT0830HKT1130AEDTAustralia Feb ANZ-Indeed Job Advertisements
0145GMT0945HKT1245AEDTChina Feb Caixin China PMI Mfg

US OUTLOOK/OPINION: A Stacked Week Ahead For US Macro

Feb-28 21:45
  • Next week sees a series a key risk points, starting with trade policy and Trump’s Mar 4 deadline for an additional 10% tariffs on China (for 20% total) and the imposition of the delayed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. US Treasury Sec Bessent offered a potential offramp here, saying Friday afternoon the US wants to see Canada and Mexico match tariffs on China. Whilst following through with that could see temporary de-escalation in US trade tensions with Canada and Mexico, it would likely stoke greater likelihood of China retaliation and/or further fiscal support.
  • It’s bookended by ISM manufacturing (Mon) and services (Wed) reports, watched to see whether sharp increases in manufacturing prices paid seen in other surveys first show up in this broader measure and whether there is sign of spillover to services. 

 

  • The main data release of the week comes on Friday though, with the nonfarm payrolls report for February.
  • The January report saw a modest miss for nonfarm payrolls but it was more than offset by a robust two-month net revision along with a smaller than expected benchmark revision. Further, the unemployment rate again surprised lower at 4.0% for its lowest since May 2024 in a further step away from the 4.3% the median FOMC member forecast for 4Q25 in the December SEP.
  • Early days for the Bloomberg survey see nonfarm payrolls growth at a seasonally adjusted 155k in February and for the unemployment rate to hold at that lower 4.0%.
  • Note that the nature of the DOGE “deferred resignation program”, with some 77k federal employees accepting the offer, shouldn’t see any direct impact on payrolls growth (in the establishment survey) until the October report as workers will remain on the payroll in the interim. One area where the direct impact could show however is the household survey. Assuming those who accepted the offer are treated as equivalent to a furloughed worker, they’ll register as unemployed. A word of caution though, it’s a much more volatile survey, with a 90% confidence level of +-600k for employment vs +-136k for payrolls. 

 

  • Note that post-payrolls Fedspeak sees a notable addition this time, with Fed Chair Powell set to talk on the economic outlook with both text and Q&A, starting at 1230ET. Data and tariff deliberations should still set the tone, but at this juncture we wouldn’t be surprised to see a continued call for patience in rate cut expectations considering dovish repricing seen over the past week. This is a theme that could be seen from other notable Fedspeakers throughout the week, including permanent voters Williams, Waller and Kugler.