NZD/USD extends weekly slide, trades below 0.6550
- Business NZ's PMI comes in worse than expected in May.
- Risk-off mood weighs on antipodeans on Friday.
- US Dollar Index clings to gains above the 97 mark.
After closing the first four days of the week in the negative territory, the NZD/USD pair continued to push lower on Friday and touched its lowest level since June 3 at 0.6528. As of writing, the pair was trading at 0.6533, losing 0.5% on a daily basis.
The ongoing protests in Hong Kong seem to be weighing on the market sentiment and hurting the demand for antipodeans such as the kiwi and the AUD, which are sensitive to political developments in Asia. Moreover, today's data from New Zealand showed that business conditions deteriorated in May with Business NZ's PMI dropping to 50.2 from 52.7 in April and missing the market expectation of 54.4.
On the other hand, the greenback seems to be taking advantage of the sour mood on Friday, lifting the US Dollar Index to a fresh weekly high of 97.20 to keep the bearish pressure on the pair intact.
In the early trading hours of the American session, retail sales, industrial production, and consumer confidence data from the U.S. will be looked upon for fresh impetus. Ahead of these data releases, the DXY is up 0.12% on the day at 97.15.
Technical levels to consider
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.
