New Zealand Retail Sales beats estimates, kiwi steady

New Zealand Retail Sales volumes rose a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent in the first quarter, data from Statistics New Zealand showed on Monday, putting sales 6.8 percent higher on the year. 

• New-Zealand (Q1) retail sales (QoQ) actual: 2.5% vs -2.7% previous.

The data is a key input for Gross Domestic Product so is a key event in an otherwise quiet start to the week in holiday thin markets. 

Nevertheless, the kiwi has not budged on the release and trades at 0.7173 in a tight 0.7161 and 0.7179 range for  the day so far, 

All in all, there is not much room for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to be much more dovish and on such data, tapering could start to become a theme which is bullish for the bird.

More to come...