NZD/USD loses ground more than 1% due to Trump trade rally

• NZD/USD falls as US Dollar receives support from Trump trade optimism.
• Exit polls indicate growing support for former President Trump's bid to become the 47th President of the United States.
• New Zealand's Unemployment Rate Q3 increased to 4.8% from 4.6% in the second quarter.

NZD/USD depreciates by more than 1% as the US Dollar (USD) rises due to a Trump trade rally sparked by the favorable results for the Republican candidate Donald Trump in the US presidential election. The pair trades around 0.5930 during the Asian hours on Wednesday.

As exit polls indicate growing support for former President Trump's bid to become the 47th President of the United States (US), the market sentiment shifts in favor of the US Dollar, undermining the NZD/USD pair.

Early exit poll results from Wisconsin indicate a lead for Republican candidate Donald Trump, with 56% of the vote compared to 42.5%, based on 7.5% of expected votes counted. In North Carolina, exit polls show a tight race between Trump and Kamala Harris, with 50% of the votes counted. In Michigan, with 12% of votes counted, Harris' lead has shrunk from 61% to 53%.

Follow our live coverage: Trump or Harris? Who will be the 47th President of the US and how will markets react?

On Wednesday, Stats NZ released the Unemployment Rate for the third quarter (Q3) of New Zealand, which rose to 4.8% from 4.6% in the second quarter. This figure was below the market consensus of 5.0% for the period. The Employment Change rate declined by 0.5% quarter-on-quarter and by 0.8% year-on-year in Q3.

Additionally, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand decided to cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 75 basis points (bps) as part of its easing cycle, which began in August. Markets are anticipating another 50 bps reduction at the final policy decision of the year on November 27, bringing the OCR down to 4.25%.