90seconds at 9am - Lng bonanza

Hello, I’m David Chaston with Ninety at nine, brought to you by interest.co.nz. This is where you get everything you need to know in 90 seconds at 9 o’clock, including news of the latest dairy auction overnight. Overall, prices held, up only 0.2% from the previous auction. But they are 51% higher than a year ago in US dollars, and 55% higher over the same period in NZ dollars. One feature of today's results is that whole milk powder prices declined, especially for the June 2014 contracts. All other commodities rose. In fact butter and cheese both rose fairly strongly and these are the products Fonterra is stuck with because it does not have enough milk drying capacity - so that is a good sign. However, while it is up 8% from the last auction - up 14% over thge past three events - butter is only just back to the prices is won when it first was offered in these auctions in March this year. Butter and cheese have some catching up to do. In the US, consumer prices are steady there too. Todays release of November data showed that prices are up just 1.2% over the year, kept down by falling petrol prices. The EU has finally agreed on auditor rotation - but in a very watered down version. The maximum term auditors will be allowed to be appointed is now 24 years. Still, that is progress over anywhere else. Later this morning we will get the details of the September current account and that is expected to show a slight deterioration from 4.3% of GDP. Then at 1pm ANZ's business confidence report will be out, and that is likely to be pretty upbeat. Yesterday's contrast between the NZ and Australian fiscal updates was interesting, but had little impact on our currency - except to push it higher against the Aussie. Our 'good news' seems to have been already priced in by currency markets. It is not all doom & gloom for the Aussie though - their enormous gas reserves are exciting analysts who think LNG exports could eliminate the Australian current account deficit, something iron ore has been unable to do. The NZ dollar starts today at 82.5 USc, up again to 92.7 AUc, and the TWI is unchanged at 77.8. I’m David Chaston, and that was 90 at nine, brought to you by interest.co.nz.