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NZD/USD consolidates Wednesday's gains, holds above 0.7200 ahead of US data

  • NZD/USD trades in a relatively tight range on Thursday.
  • Business confidence continued to improve in New Zealand in May.
  • US Dollar Index stays in the negative territory near 91.00 ahead of US data.

The NZD/USD pair gained more than 50 pips on Wednesday and close above 0.7200 before going into a consolidation phase on Thursday. As of writing, the pair was virtually unchanged on a daily basis at 0.7212.

DXY retreats to 91.00 area

The risk-positive market environment and the upbeat labour market report from New Zealand provided a boost to the kiwi on Wednesday. The Unemployment Rate in the first quarter declined to 4.7% and came in better than the market expectation of 4.9%.

On the other hand, the greenback continues to have a difficult time finding demand with investors waiting for Friday's critical Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which lost its traction for the third straight day before reaching 91.50 on Wednesday, is currently losing 0.25% on the day at 91.03.

Later in the session, the US Department of Labor's weekly Initial Jobless Claims will be looked upon for fresh impetus. However, the market reaction is likely to remain short-lived. 

In the meantime, the S&P 500 Futures are posting modest daily gains, suggesting that the USD could remain on the back foot in the second half of the day if risk flows continue to dominate the financial markets.

Technical levels to watch for

NZD/USD

Overview
Today last price0.7209
Today Daily Change-0.0006
Today Daily Change %-0.08
Today daily open0.7215
 
Trends
Daily SMA200.7162
Daily SMA500.7141
Daily SMA1000.7163
Daily SMA2000.695
 
Levels
Previous Daily High0.7218
Previous Daily Low0.7143
Previous Weekly High0.7287
Previous Weekly Low0.715
Previous Monthly High0.7287
Previous Monthly Low0.6945
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%0.719
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%0.7172
Daily Pivot Point S10.7166
Daily Pivot Point S20.7116
Daily Pivot Point S30.709
Daily Pivot Point R10.7241
Daily Pivot Point R20.7268
Daily Pivot Point R30.7317

Author

Eren Sengezer

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.

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