NZD/USD clings to modest daily gains, trades above 0.7300
- NZD/USD is rising for the fourth straight day on Thursday.
- US Dollar Index continues to fluctuate around 90.00.
- Mixed data releases from US fail to trigger noticeable market reaction.
After posting strong daily gains on Wednesday, the NZD/USD pair preserved its bullish momentum and continues to trade in the positive territory on Thursday. As of writing, the pair was rising 0.32% on the day at 0.7303.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (RBNZ) hawkish tone provided a boost to the NZD on Wednesday. Commenting on the RBNZ's policy outlook, "the RBNZ has made clear that any rate hike will be ‘conditional on the economic outlook’. Additionally, Governor Orr signalled a willingness to remain vague by commenting that ‘who knows where we will be by then' in reference to Q3 2022," noted Rabobank analysts. "In light of the hawkish outlook on rates by the RBNZ we have raised our 3-month forecast for NZD/USD very moderately from 0.72 to 0.73."
DXY holds near after US data dump
Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY) is staying relatively resilient following Wednesday's rebound and limiting NZD/USD's upside for the time being. Currently, the DXY is little changed on the day at 89.98.
The data from the US showed on Thursday that the weekly Initial Jobless Claims declined to 406,000 from 478,000. Additionally, Durable Goods Orders declined by 1.3%, compared to analysts' estimate for an increase of 0.7%. Finally, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that it left the first-quarter GDP growth unchanged at 6.4% in its second estimate.
Following the mixed macroeconomic data releases from the US, the 2% increase seen in the 10-year US Treasury bond yield is helping the USD find demand.
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.
