The New Zealand dollar (NZD) extended its losing streak against the U.S. dollar (USD) for a third consecutive session on Friday, trading around 0.5890 during Asia’s morning hours. The slide follows the release of weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data, intensifying concerns over slowing external demand from New Zealand’s largest trading partner.
China’s trade surplus narrowed to CNY 689.99 billion in April, down from CNY 736.72 billion in March. Export growth eased to 9.3% year-on-year, down from March’s 13.5%, while imports showed a modest 0.8% annual rise, rebounding from the previous 3.5% contraction.
Measured in U.S. dollar terms, China’s surplus came in at $96.18 billion—beating the $89 billion consensus but falling short of March’s $102.63 billion. Exports rose 8.1% YoY, a slowdown from March’s 12.4%, though significantly outperforming the 1.9% forecast. Imports slipped by just 0.2% compared to a projected 5.9% drop and March’s 4.3% fall. Meanwhile, China’s trade surplus with the United States narrowed to $20.46 billion in April, down sharply from $27.6 billion the previous month.
The NZD’s weakness was compounded by continued strength in the U.S. labor market, which buoyed the greenback. Initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell to 228,000 for the week ending May 3, outperforming expectations and marking an improvement from the previous week’s 241,000. The insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.2%, while the four-week moving average edged up to 226,000. Continuing jobless claims dropped by 29,000 to 1.879 million for the week ending April 26, reinforcing confidence in the robustness of the labor market.
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