NZD/USD posts modest daily losses, trades above 0.6100 ahead of key US data
- NZD/USD loses its momentum after closing previous three days higher.
- US Dollar Index fluctuates in tight range above 99 on Thursday.
- Markit Manufacturing PMI and Existing Home Sales data will be featured in US economic docket.
The NZD/USD pair closed the first three days of the week in the positive territory and gained nearly 200 pips during that period. However, the pair struggled to preserve its bullish momentum and has gone into a consolidation phase on Thursday. As of writing, NZD/USD was down 0.35% on the day at 0.6120.
The data published from New Zealand on Thursday revealed that Credit Card Spending in April declined by 49.4% on a yearly basis. The dismal market mood, as reflected by the poor performance of global equity indexes, and the disappointing data weighed on the kiwi during the Asian and European trading hours.
Eyes on key US macroeconomic data
On the other hand, the US Dollar Index, which lost more than 1% during the first half of the week, seems to be capitalizing on risk-off flows to force the pair to remain in the red. At the moment, the index is posting small daily gains at 99.20.
In the second half of the day, the weekly Initial Jobless Claims will be looked upon for fresh impetus. Moreover, preliminary Markit Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI data for May, as well as Existing Home Sales figures for April, will be featured in the US economic docket.
On Friday, Statistics New Zealand will release the first-quarter Retail Sales data.
Technical levels to watch for
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.
