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The New Zealand bond remained mixed at the time of closing Wednesday after today’s labor market report for the September quarter painted a stronger picture of employment than expected, even after allowing for some unusual quarterly moves in the details. However, wage growth has yet to show any signs of a pickup, even with consumer price inflation no longer at rock-bottom levels
At the time of closing, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, fell 1 basis point to 2.95 percent, the yield on the 20-year note tad higher at 3.51 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year slid 1 basis point to 2.01 percent.
The unemployment rate fell from 4.8 percent to 4.6 percent in the September quarter, beating market forecasts of a fall to 4.7 percent. This is the lowest rate since December 2008, when the Global Financial Crisis was reaching full force.
Employment jumped by 2.2 percent in the September quarter, well ahead of market forecasts. But that followed a 0.1 percent fall in the June quarter, which didn’t jibe with other labor market indicators at the time. Similarly, the labor force participation rate rebounded from a surprising drop to 70.1 percent in the June quarter, to reach a new all-time high of 71.1 percent in the September quarter.
However, despite the improving trend in employment, wage growth remains subdued. The Labour Cost Index (LCI) rose by 1.9 percent in the year to September. However, about 0.3 percent of that increase was due to the equal pay settlement for aged and disability care workers. Excluding that impact, annual labor cost inflation actually slowed a little, from 1.7 percent in the June quarter to 1.6 percent today. That’s despite a reasonably strong economy, and inflation no longer at rock-bottom levels.
Meanwhile, the NZX 50 index slumped 1.14 percent while closing at 8,053.81, while at 07:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained highly bullish at 118.71 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
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