NZD/USD at 10-day highs after US data

Sentiment was very bullish on Thursday, evident by the soaring US equities, and the NZDUSD pair was seen half a percent stronger during the afternoon session, trading at around 0.6650.

Earlier in the day, traders paid attention to some US data. Firstly, Markit's PMI disappointed, dropping from 53.5 preliminary to 53.2 final for August (very marginally higher MoM). ISM's gauge of Manufacturing also disappointed, printing 55.4 vs. 56.5 expected (and down from 56.0).

Moreover, 837,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week. It is getting better, but the four-week average is still very high, currently at 867,000. Continuing claims improved more than expected and dropped to 11.76 million from 12.7 million.

From other news, oil plunged more than 5% today and was trading at two-week lows near 37.70 USD. The unusual thing was that this large decline failed to undermine commodity-linked currencies. 

Should the Kiwi jump above the stronger resistance of 0.6650, we could see another leg higher toward 0.6680 or possibly to the 0.67 level. 

Alternatively, if sentiment worsens, dips could be bought at 0.6620 and around 0.6600.

For now, the short and medium-term trends appear bullish.