NZ PM Ardern: Auckland to move to alert level 3 from September 22

New Zealand (NZ) Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an easing of the virus-led emergency alert level in Auckland during early Monday.

Auckland is likely to witness receding controls from September 22, from level 3 to level 2. However, “Rest of country will remain at alert level 2 until September 22,” said NZ PM Ardern per Reuters.

Market reaction

NZD/USD fails to cheer the widely anticipated upbeat news as market sentiment wanes amid a downbeat economic forecast from NZIER and risk-negative headlines from China.

Read: NZD/USD drops back to 0.7100 as NZIER trims economic forecasts on covid concerns