NZD/USD Price Analysis: Bulls push higher as pair eyes 100-day SMA

NZD/USD surges more than 1% on Friday, reaching its highest level since late January.
The pair extends gains above 0.5730, setting its sights on the 100-day SMA at 0.5825.

Patricio Martín FXStreet

The NZD/USD pair rallied on Friday, jumping to 0.5735 and marking a fresh multi-week high. This bullish move reinforces the pair’s recovery from recent lows and suggests a potential shift in sentiment as buyers aim for higher levels. The next significant technical hurdle now lies at the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) near 0.5825, a key level that could determine whether the rally has further room to extend.

Momentum indicators are turning more constructive. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has climbed sharply to 64, reflecting increased buying pressure and indicating that the pair is approaching overbought conditions. Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram remains flat, hinting at a cautious uptrend that may need further confirmation before a sustained breakout.

Looking forward, if NZD/USD clears the 100-day SMA at 0.5825, the next resistance level emerges at 0.5860, a previous support-turned-resistance zone. On the downside, immediate support lies at 0.5700, with a deeper retracement potentially targeting 0.5660, where buyers may look to re-enter.

NZD/USD daily chart

Author

Patricio Martín

FXStreet

Patricio is an economist from Argentina passionate about global finance and understanding the daily movements of the markets.

EUR/USD steadies near 1.1650 ahead of US Nonfarm Payrolls

EUR/USD holds ground after five days of losses, trading around 1.1650 during the Asian hours on Friday. Traders remain cautious ahead of the US Nonfarm Payrolls report, which is expected to offer further insight into labor market conditions and the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. December NFP is forecast to show job gains of 60,000, down from 64,000 in November.

GBP/USD: Further weakness could challenge 1.3400

GBP/USD remains under unabated selling pressure on Thursday, slipping to fresh three-day lows around 1.3415 in response to further improvement in the sentiment surrounding the Greenback ahead of Friday’s key NFP data.

Gold defends $4,450, looks to the crucial US NFP report

Gold struggles to capitalize on the previous day's goodish move up from the vicinity of the $4,400 mark and attracts some sellers while defending $4,450 in the Asian session on Friday. The critical US employment details will offer more cues about the Fed's rate-cut path, which, in turn, will influence the US Dollar price dynamics and provide a fresh impetus to the non-yielding bullion.

Forecasts for Payrolls are all over the place

Yesterday’s data put the kybosh on the idea the Fed needs to cut rates fairly urgently to protect the labor market. The jobs component of the ISM services index was nicely over 50, and that rising JOLTS voluntary quits rate also points to no real heartache in labor.

2026 economic outlook: Clear skies but don’t unfasten your seatbelts yet

Most years fade into the background as soon as a new one starts. Not 2025: a year of epochal shifts, in which the macroeconomy was the dog that did not bark. What to expect in 2026? The shocks of 2025 will not be undone, but neither will they be repeated.

XRP slides as institutional and retail demand falters

Ripple is trading down for the third consecutive day on Thursday amid escalating volatility in the cyrptocurrency market. After peaking at $2.41 on Tuesday, its highest print since November 14 amid the early-year rally, XRP has quickly ran into aggressive profit-taking.