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The New Zealand bonds gained at the time of closing Thursday as investors poured into safe-haven instruments, away from riskier equities and oil, despite the ruling National Party gaining traction in the latest NZ election polls, released today, ahead of the September 23 general election.
At the time of closing, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, slid 1 basis point to 3.07 percent, the yield on 7-year note also fell 1 basis point to 2.93 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year too ended 1 basis point lower at 2.19 percent.
The last poll before the election has shown Labour's progress up the polls has stalled almost ten points short of National - but National has also slipped back a tad, giving NZ First leader Winston Peters the kingmaker position. On the Newshub Reid Research poll, National is on 45.8 percent while Labour is on 37.3 percent. National has slipped two points since the last poll on September 12 while Labour is down only slightly.
However, the Green Party has moved up from below the five percent threshold to 7.1 percent - and between them, Labour and the Greens have 44.4 percent. NZ First was also at 7.1 percent and would have the balance of power.
Dairy prices rose 0.9 percent at the latest global dairy auction (GDT) to reach an average of USD3368 (NZD4602) per tonne, with butter prices setting a fresh record high – the eighth this year. This was the second consecutive increase in the auction, following a 0.3 percent rise on September 5, and after two slight dips in August.
Meanwhile, the NZX 50 index ended 0.30 percent lower at 7,795.41, while at 06:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained neutral at 57.96 (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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