NZD/USD drops to the 0.5900 mark, US soft landing concern ahead of the US CPI data

The NZD/USD pair loses ground to 0.5910 after retreating from a weekly high of 0.5935 during the early Asian trading hours on Tuesday.

The latest data from Statistics New Zealand revealed on Tuesday that the nation’s Electronic Card Retail Sales for August came in at 3.7% YoY from 2.2% in the previous reading, while the monthly figure grew 0.7% versus 0% prior. Finally, the Visitor Arrivals for July came in at 59.3% YoY from the previous reading of 88.5%.

Apart from this, the headline surrounding economic development in China might benefit the China-proxy New Zealand Dollar (NZD) and limit the downside of the NZD/USD pair. That said, China’s deflation pressures eased as consumer prices in August improved from a negative territory. The data released on Saturday showed that the Chinese Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August rose 0.1% YoY, from a 0.3% drop in the previous month, compared to the 0.2% rise expected. The monthly figure was 0.3% as expected.

On the US Dollar front, recent data showed that the US manufacturing sector has been weaker than the services sector. Investors believe that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will pause the interest rate in the September meeting. However, the release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday could provide hints Fed about the further rate hike for the rest of the year. Investors expect the US headline CPI to rise at a 0.5% annual rate owing to a rebound in gasoline costs. While core inflation remained stable at 0.2%.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on the weekend that she felt more optimism that the US could control inflation without damaging the employment market. Yellen also said on Sunday that every gauge of inflation is declining and there were no massive wave of layoffs.

Looking ahead, the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday will be closely watched by market players. On Thursday, the US Retail Sales and Industrial Production will be due. The attention will shift to the release of Chinese Retail Sales and Industrial Production for July, which might influence the Kiwi. Traders will take a cue from the figures and find trading opportunities for the NZD/USD pair.