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US Dollar Slips as Weak Retail Sales Reduce Fed Rate Hike Bets 
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The New Zealand bonds ended on a mixed tone Wednesday in a silent trading session that witnessed no data of economic significance. Also, investors are eyeing the country’s first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), scheduled to be released on June 15, besides the revealing of the United States Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision, later today.
At the time of closing, the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond, which moves inversely to its price, rose 1/2 basis point to 2.82 percent, the yield on 7-year note slipped 1 basis point to 2.70 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year note also ended 1 basis point lower at 1.95 percent.
New Zealand’s current account deficit widened to 3.1% of GDP in the year to March, compared with an upwardly revised deficit of 2.8% in December. This result was in contrast to market expectations of an unchanged deficit but was close to our forecast of -3.0%.
The country’s GDP is expected to show a more ‘normal’ pace of growth over the March quarter, as some of the temporary factors that held back growth in the December quarter unwind.
"We’re forecasting a 0.8 percent increase in GDP, a little less than the 0.9 percent rise that the Reserve Bank expected in its most recent Monetary Policy Statement, but at the higher end of market forecasts. Meanwhile, the current account deficit is expected to widen as weak export volumes outweigh higher prices," Westpac commented in its latest research report.
Lastly, markets are overwhelmingly expecting a 25 basis points interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve when it concludes its two-day FOMC meeting on Wednesday. Futures markets as of Tuesday morning have priced-in an extremely high probability of this rate hike occurring – over 99 percent.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index closed 0.59 percent higher at 7,483.99 while at 06:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained slightly bullish at 80.01 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
