NZD/USD struggles under 0.6800 at the start of quiet day on the data front
- Mildly bid on the US-China trade deal news but still short of clearing the 0.6800 marks.
- No major data highlights trade talks with 0.6800 round-figure being immediate upside barrier.
NZD/USD trades at 0.6780 during the early Asian session on Thursday. The quote struggles to extend its previous recovery amid lack of data. However, positive sentiment surrounding the trade deal between the US and China, coupled with weaker data and market risk-on, favors the buyers. It should be noted that neither the US nor New Zealand has any crucial data scheduled for release today and hence highlight the importance of the on-going US-China trade talk as the main catalyst.
In addition to better than forecast prints by the New Zealand GDT Price Index and ANZ commodity prices, welcome developments at the US-China trade front also pleased the Kiwi buyers on Wednesday.
Chinese delegates led by the Vice Premier Liu He are in Washington to further negotiate the much-awaited trade deal with the US. Various news reports suggested that both the sides are now closer to a trade deal with few final touches required.
Given the absence of data, progress at the trade negotiation front will be closely observed. Even if chances are high that the talks might end on a positive note giving dates of the Trump-Xi meet, any disappointments might not be taken lightly.
At the data, the weekly release of the US initial jobless claims is the only thing to watch. The first time unemployment claims could rise to 216K from 211K during the week ended on March 29.
NZD/USD Technical Analysis
Despite being on a positive side, the quote is still shy of breaking 0.6800 round-figure that’s restricted its upside on Wednesday. As a result, a successful break of 0.6800 becomes pre-requisite for it to aim for 100-day simple moving average (SMA) level of 0.6815, followed by 0.6835 figure comprising 50-day SMA.
Alternatively, pair’s slips under 200-day SMA level of 0.6730 can avail 0.6700 mark as a halt ahead of revisiting the 0.6690 and 0.6650 supports.