Ella 
The New Zealand dollar fell for the third consecutive day against the US dollar, trading around 0.6200 in Asia on Tuesday. Declining bets on a massive rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September boosted the dollar.
Traders await the release of the ISM Manufacturing PMI this evening. The focus will turn to U.S. employment data, especially the August non-farm report, for more clues on the timing and scale of the Federal Reserve’s rate cut.
A continued rise in U.S. Treasury yields has provided support to the dollar, but gains may be limited as expectations grow for a quarter-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September. Market confidence is near 70% that the Fed will cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points at its September meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
In New Zealand, the terms of trade index increased by 2.1% in the second quarter, compared with a decrease of 5.1% in the previous quarter, and the market expected a growth of 2.0%. Export prices rose sharply by 5.2% in the second quarter, recovering from a 0.3% quarterly decline in March. Import prices also rebounded, rising by 3.1% this quarter after falling sharply by 5.1% in the previous quarter.
New Zealand’s NZX 50 index consolidated, hovering around 12,500 points, as U.S. stocks closed on Monday amid a lack of global drivers. Traders were assessing July manufacturing purchasing managers’ index data from China, a key trading partner. Official data showed factory activity contracted at its sharpest pace in six months, while private survey data showed manufacturing expanded for the seventh time this year.
