- AUD/NZD moves into positive territory after the RBNZ policy decision on Wednesday.
- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand maintained the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 3.25% in July.
- President Trump may announce soon a 50% tariff on imported copper and a 200% tariff on pharmaceutical imports.
AUD/NZD holds ground after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) decided to stand pat on the policy rate after six consecutive cuts, trading around 1.0890 during the Asian hours on Wednesday. The RBNZ board members maintained the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 3.25% in the July policy meeting, aligned with the market expectations. Traders are likely shifting their focus on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Minutes later in on Wednesday.
The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) reacted little following the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from China, New Zealand’s close trading partner. China’s Consumer inflation climbed to 0.1% year-over-year in June from -0.1% in May. The market consensus was 0% in the reported period. Meanwhile, the monthly CPI fell 0.1% against the expected 0% reading. Moreover, Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 3.6% YoY in June, following a 3.3% decline in May. The data came in lower than the market consensus of 3.2%.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will announce a 50% tariff on imported copper and indicated that steeper sector-specific levies are forthcoming. Trump also said he would soon announce tariffs “at a very, very high rate, like 200%,” on pharmaceutical imports.
The White House announced on Monday that US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order delaying the implementation of new tariffs from July to August 1, per Bloomberg. However, Trump renewed his tariff threat of up to 40% on 14 nations, including a 25% tax on imports from Japan and South Korea.
