NZD/USD refreshes daily low, around mid-0.5900s amid the emergence of some USD buying
- NZD/USD comes under heavy selling pressure and is weighed down by resurgent USD demand.
- Reduced bets for more Fed rate hikes might cap the USD and limit any further losses for the pair.
- Traders now look to the US macro data for some impetus ahead of the Jackson Hole Symposium.
The NZD/USD pair meets with a fresh supply on Thursday and reverses a major part of the previous day’s positive move to the 0.5985 region, or a one-week high. Spot prices touched a daily low, around mid-0.5900s during the early part of the European session and for now, seem to have stalled this week’s recovery from the lowest level since November 2022.
The US Dollar (USD) makes a solid comeback after Wednesday’s sharp pullback from a more than two-month high and turns out to be a key factor exerting pressure on the NZD/USD pair. Against the backdrop of the worsening economic conditions in China, a host of manufacturing surveys released on Wednesday painted a grim picture of the health of economies across the globe. This, in turn, fuels worries about a deeper global economic downturn and drives some haven flow towards the USD.
Meanwhile, the flash US PMI prints also showed that business activity in the world’s largest economy approached the stagnation point in August and pushed back against expectations for further policy tightening by the Federal Reserve (Fed). This drags the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note away from a 16-year high. Furthermore, the optimism over signs of easing US-China trade tensions might cap gains for the buck and lend support to antipodean currencies, including the Kiwi.
Traders might also refrain from placing aggressive directional bets and prefer to move to the sidelines ahead of the Jackson Hole Symposium, where comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be scrutinized for cues about the future rate-hike path. This, in turn, will influence the USD and provide a fresh impetus to the NZD/USD pair. In the meantime, traders on Thursday will look to the US economic docket – featuring the Weekly Jobless Claims and Durable Goods Orders – for short-term opportunities.