The antipodean currencies started the year on a firmer footing after a battering in 2018, but heightened anxiety a protracted Sino-US trade war could see a sharp slowdown, or even a recession, in the world's biggest economies is clouding the outlook. New Zealand government bonds were little changed. Australian government bond futures edged lower, with the three-year bond contract and the 10-year contract off half a tick each at 98.230 and 97.72.
Economist John Kemp, a Reuters columnist, on Thursday predicted the global economy was headed for a recession this year, with the OECD's composite leading indicator falling to just 99.3 points in November - its lowest reading since October 2012. Worryingly, data out from Singapore showed the city-state's exports plunged the most in more than two years in December in a sign of increasing strain in global trade and demand.