NZD/USD trades at 2-week highs near 0.6600
|- Annual inflation in New Zealand rises more than expected in Q3.
- The bi-weekly GDT auction yields another decline in prices.
- US Dollar Index looks to close the day near 95.
The NZD/USD pair gained traction in the early trading hours of the Asian session after the data released by the Statistics New Zealand showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.9% in the third quarter from 1.5% in the second quarter and beat the analysts' estimate of 1.7%. With the greenback struggling to find demand in the remainder of the day, the pair extended its march north and touched its highest level since early October 0.6598. As of writing, the pair was up 0.66% on the day at 0.6592.
Later in the day, the Fed reported that industrial production in the U.S. increased 0.3% in September to come in line with market expectation and the capacity utilization stayed unchanged at %78.1. A separate report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the number of job openings jumped to a fresh record high of 7.1 million in August.
The US Dollar Index, which dipped below the 95 mark in the early NA session, retraced its losses and was last seen virtually unchanged on the day at 95.02 as investors seem to be staying away from making large bets before the FOMC releases the minutes of its September meeting on Wednesday.
On the other hand, the bi-weekly GDT auction yielded the third straight decline in dairy prices with the GDT price index falling 0.3%. Nevertheless, this data did little to nothing to hurt the kiwi.
Technical levels to consider
On the upside, the pair could face the initial resistance at 0.6600 (psychological level/daily high/50-DMA) ahead of 0.6640 (Sep. 28 high) and 0.6675 (100-DMA). On the downside, supports are located at 0.6560 (Oct. 16 low), 0.6500 (psychological level) and 0.6440 (Oct. 19 low).
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