NZD/USD climbs to 10-day highs near 0.6630
- Renewed trade optimism helps NZD gather strength against USD.
- US Dollar Index consolidates last week's gains above 97.50.
- Coming up: Durable Goods Orders and New Home Sales data from US.
The NZD/USD pair closed the previous week flat near the 0.6600 mark and spent the Asian session moving sideways around that level before gaining traction in the early European morning. As of writing, the pair was trading at its highest level in 10 days at 0.6627, adding 0.4% on a daily basis.
More trade headlines ahead of Christmas
Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump said that they have achieved a breakthrough in the trade deal with China and noted that they will be signing it very shortly. Trump further noted that China has already started a large scale purchase of agricultural products.
Although Chinese President Xi reportedly accused the US of interfering with its internal affair, trade-sensitive antipodeans started the holiday-shortened week on an upbeat tone on the back of renewed optimism.
On the other hand, after capitalizing on the strong data releases and closing the week 0.5% higher, the US Dollar Index has gone into a consolidation phase on Monday, allowing the NZD's performance to drive the pair's action. Ahead of the Durable Goods Orders, New Home Sales and Chicago Fed National Activity Index data from the US, the index is down 0.05% on the day at 97.63.
With major markets going into the Christmas break this week, the market activity throughout the week is expected to remain suıbdued.
Technical levels to watch for
Author
Eren Sengezer
FXStreet
As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.
