Thursday 13th February 2020

The markets are continuing to discount the impact of the Coronavirus as the infection rate and mortality rate eases in China. Bond prices have fallen, and equities have hit new highs. Phil Dobbie discusses the riser in oil prices with NAB’s Gavin Friend, even as OPEC makes a significant downward revision to its Q1 forecasts. They also discuss the hawkish tone set by the RBNZ yesterday and it’s impact on the NZ dollar, which has held much of its gain in the overnight session. Europe, meanwhile, has little to offer in terms of positive sentiment – even though shares are up there, industrial production numbers showed a significant fall in December and the Euro is paying the price today.