NZD/USD backing away from 0.68 as market sentiment hangs in the breeze

The NZD/USD is trading into near-term support in Monday trading, testing near 0.6770 after opening the week with a bullish gap into 0.6788.

The Kiwi saw a bounce last Friday as the US Dollar retreated across the broad market, but the bullish momentum appears to have ended as quickly as it began, and the NZD is seeing continued selling pressure in the early Monday Asia session.

Broad-market risk sentiment continues to be the main driving force across the FX space, with the US' aggressive trade stance against major trading partners continuing to sap trader confidence across the major pairs. 

Late Monday will be giving the Kiwi bulls a chance with the NZIER Business Confidence for the second quarter dropping at 22:00 GMT. The confidence survey last printed at -11%, and a rebound in business confidence could give the Kiwi some support heading into the rest of the week, but a slumped Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) that looks equally likely to start cutting rates as they are to lift them has given markets little reason to invest much faith in the NZ economy.

NZD/USD levels to watch

A bearish continuation will quickly see last week's lows at 0.6735, which would see the pair setting yet another low for 2018, while a bullish continuation will have to break past the last key swing low at 0.6825, with last week's high at 0.6920 waiting just beyond.