The Kiwi jumped against the US Dollar, following the data release on the New Zealand’s labour market. The NZD/USD exchange rate rose 0.48% or 35 pips, but returned to the 0.7320 mark.
Statistics New Zealand stated that the country’s job growth slowed less than anticipated in the December quarter of 2017, as government change caused a decrease in business confidence and made companies more cautious concerning hiring. However, the unemployment rate slumped unexpectedly to the nine-year low of 4.5%. Meanwhile, the modest employment growth, which slowed to 0.5% from 2.2% seen in the Q3, provided more signs that pressure on inflation and wages would remain benign, allowing the RBNZ to keep rates unchanged.