NZD/USD remains steady around 0.6360 on higher-than-expected NZ PMI, Fed Powell in focus

The NZD/USD pair has not displayed any wild or one-sided moves after the release of the Business NZ PMI. Business NZ has reported the PMI at 52.9, higher than the expectations and the prior print of 52.7 and 51.2 respectively.

The kiwi bulls are performing strongly from the last two trading sessions despite the downbeat Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers. A country’s GDP data states its overall economic growth and possess significant importance. The GDP has tumbled to 1.2%, significantly lower than the estimates of 3.3% and the prior print of 3.1%on an annual basis. More adverse, the quarterly figures have shifted to negative territory. The quarterly GDP has landed at -0.2%, much lower than the consensus and the former figure of 0.6% and 3% respectively.

Next week, the kiwi dollar will be guided by the interest rate decision from the People Bank of China (PBOC). Officially, the one-year loan prime rate of the PBOC stands at 3.7% while the five-year rate is at 4.6%.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY) has recorded a two-day losing streak after the Federal Reserve (Fed) announced a rate hike by 75 basis points (bps). A 75 bps rate hike option gained popularity on the release of the four-decade-high US Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 8.6%. A tight labor market and firm growth prospects have supported the Federal Reserve (Fed) to announce an extremely tight policy. In today’s session, investors will keep an eye on the speech from Fed chair Jerome Powell, which will provide more insights of the monetary policy dictated on Wednesday.