11:00 AM (NZT) This mornings release of NZ retail sales numbers saw the  number come out at -2.5% vs the expectation of -.8%. This horrid number saw the NZD smacked lower on all cross rates. This type of number backs up the RBNZ’s lowering of the economic activity forecasts for NZ. The post number low for the NZD/USD is .7487. It also looks like speculative accounts have been flushed out of bought NZD/sold AUD positions.
 
Please note that markets are particularly illiquid at the moment, which can be evidenced by the short squeeze overnight that saw the USD under pressure from the EUR especially. All this on very little economic data or major news. December markets are notorious for these conditions as many market participants keep activity to a minimum.
 

					Last 24 hours trade
	Current level	Pre-Retail Sales	Chge since Retail Sales		Low	High
NZD/USD	0.7512	0.7547	-0.5%		0.7456	0.7577
AUD/USD	0.9968	0.9950	0.2%		0.9828	0.9984
NZD/AUD	0.7540	0.7586	-0.6%		0.7573	0.7604
AUD/NZD	1.3263	1.3182	0.6%		1.3151	1.3204
NZD/GBP	0.4737	0.4760	-0.5%		0.4719	0.4787
NZD/EUR	0.5608	0.5637	-0.5%		0.563	0.5682
NZD/JPY	62.63	62.97	-0.5%		62.63	63.31
NZD/CAD	0.7570	0.7610	-0.5%		0.7529	0.7628