NZD/USD falling into 0.72 as risk-off theme continues

The NZD/USD is heading lower in Asia as the pair drop into 0.7200 with little confidence to support the Kiwi in the new week.

China's housing market cooling off

Risk appetite in the Asia markets is being subdued following Chinese housing data that shows the price of new homes in China slowed in February compared to the previous month. Average new home prices in China's seventy largest cities only rose by 0.2% after a 0.3% increase in the previous month according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). China's housing market threatened to overheat in recent years, and it will be difficult to ascertain if the Chinese authorities went to far with their control measures, as a side-by-side comparison of housing figures is difficult after the NBS removed sales prices for affordable housing from their reports.

The Kiwi is suffering a fairly bearish outlook as noted by the research team at Barclays; the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is widely expected to strike a dovish tone at their March Rate Statement, and further bearish pressure will come from the US Fed, who is expected to lift rates this week.

The RBNZ has their Interest Rate Decision and Rate Statement on Wednesday at 20:00 GMT, but before that will be Westpac's Consumer Survey at 21:00 GMT later today. The survey has declined lately as consumer expectations for improved growth and economic activity continue to wane, and a miss for the indicator could help flush the Kiwi further ahead of the RBNZ's interest rate action.

NZD/USD Technicals

The pair is back into bearish territory once more, facing strong support from 0.7185 (200-day SMA), while a bullish turnaround will face resistance from 0.7355 (March high), with intraday support sitting at 0.7175 (February low) and resistance at 0.7240 (Friday swing low).