NZD/USD has spiked on the surprise upside numbers NZ GDP, beats RBNZ projection by 0.5%

NZD/USD: buyers trigger stops above the trend line resistance, cleaning out the stale shorts.
NZD/USD: hits a high of 0.6652 on the GDP data, bears waiting to pounce.
NZ GDP data: New Zealand April to June economic growth has come in at a beat: +1.0% q/q expected 0.8% q/q, prior 0.5% 2.8% y/y expected 2.5% y/y, prior 2.6%, revised from 2.7%.

Ross J Burland FXStreet

The NZD dollar had already been riding the coattails of the Aussie that trades as a proxy to the CNH. USD/CNH dropped from 6.8703 to 6.8424, (albeit still well above the levels that some analysts in the banks had been calling for not as far back as before August's business), on the back of remarks from the Chinese Premier who said a yuan devaluation would “do more harm than good”.

In the last moments, the Kiwi rallied through trendline resistance at 0.6620 and scored a high of 0.6652 on GDP that beat the RBNZ's estimates of 0.5%. The New Zealand April to June economic growth has come in at a beat: +1.0% q/q expected 0.8% q/q, prior 0.5% 2.8% y/y expected 2.5% y/y, prior 2.6%, revised from 2.7%. However, while this is a promising set of data, whether it will have an important bearing on the Reserve Bank's thinking, (as boosted by temporary factors), given its low expectation of 0.5% growth and its recent comments that it is nearing the trigger point for OCR cuts, will need to be seen - but it does leave year-ended GDP growth at around 2.5%.

New Zealand economy expanded 1.0% q/q in Q2, boosted by temporary factors - ANZ

Eyes on AUD

Elsewhere, eyes are on the AUD/USD. The Aussie is set on a test of the 76.4% fib retracement of the slide from 0.7381 to 0.7079 at 0.73 the figure, currently closing a very bullish daily stick at 0.7268 having made an overnight high of 0.7275.

NZD/USD levels

Support located at 0.6540 and resistance is located at 0.6650. The 21-D SMA has been left behind and eyes are on 0.6685 1st July lows. However, 0.6711 would be the 76.4% retracement of the daily downtrend from 0.7393. The next target would be the 61.8% retracement target of the same sell-off at 0.6841 (this falls in line with the lows of 15th May). A continuation of the downside and break of 0.6500 would open up 0.6344 and 0.6306 on the wide.

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

AUD/USD keeps the red near 0.6950 after weak Aussie jobs data

AUD/USD holds losses near 0.6950 on disappointing Australian jobs data, extending the previous day's retracement slide from the monthly high and hitting a fresh weekly low during Thursday’s Asian session. Meanwhile, declining US bond yields drag the US Dollar away from the April 2025 high, touched after Wednesday's hot US CPI, helping limit losses for the currency pair.

USD/JPY slides back below 158.00 as USD reverses post-CPI gains

USD/JPY extends the previous day's pullback from a three-week high, attracting follow-through selling and sliding below 158.00 during Thursday's Asian session. Traders remain on high alert amid speculation that authorities will step in to prop up the Japanese Yen. The US Dollar, meanwhile, reverses Wednesday's hot CPI-led gains to April 2025 highs as US bond yields retreat on China bond-buying talk, further pressuring the pair.

Gold sticks to gains below $4,150 on weak USD; bulls seem hesitant amid Fed hike bets

Gold clings to modest intraday gains through the early European session amid a broadly weaker US Dollar, snapping a three-day losing streak to a one-week low set on Wednesday. The initial aggressive market reaction to hot US consumer inflation figures faded quickly amid expectations that the Fed may not rush to raise interest rates immediately. This led to a further decline in US bond yields, prompting some follow-through USD profit-taking and supporting the non-yielding bullion.

Bitcoin, XRP analyst sentiment jumps as Solana bulls hit 91%: CryptoQuant

Analyst sentiment on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BNB and XRP has flipped bullish since July, as the top five cryptocurrencies recovered faster and more strongly than during the 2022-2023 market phase, according to CryptoQuant.

US Sept Retail Sales and PPI in focus along with corporate earnings

Asia market update: Bond traders ignore US CPI and focus on equity weakness and AI-credit concerns ahead of TSMC earnings; Kospi circuit breaker triggered for the first time since Jul; CHF and JPY rise on safe-haven demand; US Sept Retail Sales & PPI in focus along with corporate earnings. - Chinese shipping firms collapse amid capacity concerns.

Has Bitcoin really escaped the macro forces it was built to fight?

Over 17 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin (BTC) on the back of a global financial crisis as an alternative to the global monetary system outside the control of central banks, governments and traditional intermediaries. This raises a key question: has Bitcoin really become independent of the macroeconomic forces it was built to challenge?