New Zealand GDP - Mixed q/q up but y/y down

This Wednesday evening December 21st 2011 at 21:45 GMT and 16:45 EST the GDP figures from New Zealand were released. This number only comes out quarterly and because of this it often surprises the market. The past 2 quarterly releases have had good moves on NZD forex pairs.

It is nearly Christmas and volumes are getting lighter and lighter since since December 9th. This can either mean exaggerated moves or very small move with little response. Tonight's figures were mixed with the quarterly number higher and the yearly lower with the previous yearly figure also being revised down. Here is the news data:

New Zealand GDP q/q
Estimates: Median +0.6% , Average +0.6, Range +0.3% to +0.9%
Actual: +0.8% Prior: +0.1%

New Zealand GDP q/q
Estimates: Median +2.2% , Average +2.2%, Range +1.6% to +2.5%
Actual: +1.9% Prior: 1.5% Revised: +1.1%

This is a 5 second chart of the NZDUSD forex pair, there was a quick blip up of about 10-15 pips which then reversed. These deviations were not large enough for trading anyhow. With the yearly figure not agreeing with the quarterly figure it was definately not something to trade. The skilled scalper could have faded the initial spike and bought the pre-news move up. but this is risky and not for everyone.

Here is a 5 minute chart of the NZDUSD forex pair which shows what happened during the asian session while europe was asleep. The Kiwi-Dollar ran down but rallied as the European Cash Equities opened at 8am.