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NZD/USD Price Forecast: Consolidates above 0.5860/weekly low as bulls look to US NFP

  • NZD/USD struggles to gain any meaningful traction as traders keenly await the US NFP report.
  • Geopolitical uncertainties and Fed hike bets underpin the USD, capping the upside for the pair.
  • The bullish technical setup backs the case for an upside breakout amid the RBNZ’s hawkish tilt.

The NZD/USD pair seesaws between tepid gains and minor losses through the first half of the European session on Friday as traders opt to move to the sidelines ahead of the release of the crucial US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report. The crucial data will play a key role in influencing the near-term US Dollar (USD) price dynamics and provide a fresh impetus to the currency pair.

In the meantime, persistent geopolitical uncertainties and bets for at least one interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) act as a tailwind for the safe-haven USD and cap the NZD/USD pair. However, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (RBNZ) hawkish tilt continues to underpin the Kiwi and helps the NZD/USD pair to hold above the 0.5860 level, or the lower end of its weekly range.

The said area coincides with a horizontal resistance breakpoint and should act as a key pivotal point for short-term traders amid a mixed technical setup. In fact, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering near the neutral 50 line, and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is ticking slightly negative, which hints at a consolidative tone rather than a strongly trending market.

Nevertheless, the NZD/USD pair maintains a mildly bullish near-term bias and keeps the broader recovery structure intact,  above the 200-period Simple Moving Average (SMA) on the 4-hour chart. This, in turn, suggests that any further slide is more likely to attract buyers near the 0.5868 area, while the 200-period SMA at 0.5770 reinforces a deeper structural floor if sellers extend a pullback.

On the flip side, bulls might await sustained strength and acceptance above 0.5900 – marking the highest level since early June and the top boundary of the weekly range – before placing fresh bets. The NZD/USD pair might then extend its recent goodish recovery move from the year-to-date low, around the 0.5625 region, touched in June.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)

NZD/USD 4-hour chart

Chart Analysis NZD/USD

New Zealand Dollar Price This week

The table below shows the percentage change of New Zealand Dollar (NZD) against listed major currencies this week. New Zealand Dollar was the strongest against the Japanese Yen.

USDEURGBPJPYCADAUDNZDCHF
USD0.21%0.37%0.74%0.07%0.03%0.51%0.54%
EUR-0.21%0.17%0.58%-0.13%-0.08%0.31%0.35%
GBP-0.37%-0.17%0.04%-0.30%-0.25%0.13%0.18%
JPY-0.74%-0.58%-0.04%-0.61%-0.57%-0.14%-0.11%
CAD-0.07%0.13%0.30%0.61%0.04%0.48%0.48%
AUD-0.03%0.08%0.25%0.57%-0.04%0.37%0.42%
NZD-0.51%-0.31%-0.13%0.14%-0.48%-0.37%0.04%
CHF-0.54%-0.35%-0.18%0.11%-0.48%-0.42%-0.04%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the New Zealand Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent NZD (base)/USD (quote).

Author

Haresh Menghani

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

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