NZD/USD trades in lower-half of daily range near 0.6740
- Crude oil sell-off weighs on commodity-sensitive currencies.
- US Dollar Index gains traction in the NA session on upbeat data.
After losing more than 50 pips on Wednesday, the NZD/USD pair extended its slide on Thursday and slumped to a 9-day low of 0.6727. As of writing, the pair was trading at 0.6738, losing 0.55% on a daily basis.
Boosted by the upbeat macroeconomic data releases from the U.S. and the small gains witnessed in the US T-bond yields, the US Dollar Index pushed higher after staying calm near the 96 mark in the last two days. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia today reported that the business activity in the region's manufacturing sector expanded at a robust pace in January. Furthermore, weekly initial jobless claims fell to 213K compared to the market expectation of 220K. At the moment, the DXU is up 0.2% on the day at 96.26.
On the other hand, the heavy selling pressure that hit crude oil today seems to be weighing on commodity-sensitive currencies with AUD, NZD and the CAD, which are all weakening against their major rivals.
In the early trading hours of the Asian session, the Business NZ will release its PMI report. Until then, the greenback's market valuation is likely to remain as the sole driver of the pair's price action.
Technical levels to consider
The immediate support for the pair aligns at 0.6730 (daily low) ahead of 0.6700 (psychological level/Jan. 8 low) and 0.6670 (Jan. 4 low). On the upside, resistances are located at 0.6790 (50-DMA), 0.6830 (Jan. 16 high) and 0.6880 (Dec. 18, 2018, high). Meanwhile, the RSI indicator on the daily chart continues to push lower below the 50 level, suggesting that the bearish momentum is gathering strength.