A wealth of information
It is always worth having a look through central banks minutes as they are often helpful in providing background information or a general overview on the present market conditions. I recommend beginner traders taking some time to do this as it starts to key them in with the major market themes. So, as an example, one question that the RBNZ answeredin their last policy statement was, 'How are weaker global conditions affecting New Zealand's economy?' The following answers, and more, were given by the RBNZ to the question above:
- New Zealand is a 'small open economy, so global economy and financial market conditions have a large influence on our business cycle'.
- The RBNZ's domestic forecasts are based on the channels which impact the NZ economy and the highest levels are, 'trade, financial markets and confidence business/uncertainty'
- Weaker global conditions often lead to lower prices for NZ exports, imports and reduced tourist spending.
These minutes were enough to give a clue as to the importance of the business confidence data coming up on Thursday. So, always worth reading the minutes through from time to time.
