TVHE

Things are generally looking better for New Zealand.  Consumer, business, and forecaster expectations of growth have improved, our trading partners are stabilising, and financial markets are functioning.  Yay.

But one piece of data that leaves me a little cautious is the money stock data.  The broadest measure of the money stock (M3)  declined 2% on a year earlier in November.  This was the largest decline on record (going back to 1960).

Furthermore, following this release the New Zealand dollar has climbed sharply.

If the declines in the money stock are sustained, and the higher dollar is also sustained, there is one clear interpretation – market expectations of demand driven deflation.

Of course, this data is volatile and rising commodity price expectations and the such can be used to explain the change in the dollar, but …