The Reserve Bank of New Zealand decision and press conference is the focus for the session here.
RBNZ statement due 18 February at 2pm New Zealand time (0100 GMT / 2000 US Eastern time on Tuesday 17 February). Previews:
- RBNZ expected to hold rates as higher food price inflation adds limited pressure
- Likely RBNZ on hold decision February 18
- RBNZ to hold, signal rate hikes ahead, ING. Upside risks for NZ/US toward 0.62 by year-end
- RBNZ preview: risk of disappointment given the high expectations
Before the RBNZ statement we are getting some data from New Zealand, Q4 2025 New Zealand Q1 PPI inputs and outputs. What are these?
The Producer Price Index (PPI) is a measure of the average prices that producers in a country receive for their outputs (PPI Outputs) and the average prices that producers pay for their inputs (PPI Inputs).
PPI Outputs:
- The PPI Outputs measure the average prices received by New Zealand producers for goods and services they produce and sell. This could be to other businesses (intermediate consumption) or to final consumers.
- cover various industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and services, among others
- rising PPI Outputs index can indicate increasing inflationary pressure as producers are getting higher prices for their goods and services. However, they might not necessarily pass these increases on to consumers
PPI Inputs:
- The PPI Inputs, on the other hand, measure the average prices paid by New Zealand producers for their inputs — the raw materials, services, and capital goods they use to produce their goods and services.
- These inputs can be sourced domestically or imported.
- When the PPI Inputs index is rising, it suggests that producers are facing higher costs, which might eventually lead to higher prices for consumers if the producers pass these costs on through higher output prices.
Japanese trade data will follow soon after. Exports are expected to show a very solid jump in January.
From Australia the wages data is the ost interest. The RBA rasied rates at its first meeting of the year this month. Yesterday we had that meeting’s minutes:
Oh, before I finish, China, Hong Kong and Singapore are all out on holiday today again today. The absence of these major trading hubs will substantially thin out interest and liquidity during the time zone here.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.