NZD/USD reclaims 0.5700 after hitting a weekly low below 0.5600
- NZD/USD is gaining ground, up by more than 2% amid a soft US dollar.
- The US ISM Manufacturing PMI was weaker-than-expected, flashing signs that demand is slowing.
- NZD/USD traders are eyeing the NZIER Report, alongside US Durable Goods, JOLTs Openings, ahead of Friday’s US NFP.
The New Zealand dollar erases trims some of the last Friday’s losses, reclaiming the 0.6700 figure on a risk-on impulse. Measures of US economic activity in the US weakening, and some readings showing that inflation in the manufacturing sector is easing, is perceived by market players as a reason for the Fed to slow its pace of tightening. Hence, the NZD/USD is trading at 0.5720, above its opening price by 2.25%.
On Monday, the NZD/USD began trading around 0.5600 and climbed towards its daily high at 0.5731, late in the European session.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) revealed that Manufacturing PMI expanded at its slowest rhythm in two years, with September PMI decelerating to 50.9 from 52.8 in August. In the same report, new orders declined to 47.1 from 51, flashing that demand is softening, while prices retreated for the six-consecutive month.
Elsewhere, the US Dollar Index, a gauge of the buck’s value vs. a basket of peers, continued dropping as I type, is losing 0.45%, down at 111.671. Furthermore, US Treasury bond yields moved lower, following the release of weaker-than-expected ISM Manufacturing readings, alongside the U-turn in the UK’s 45% tax cuts budget.
Aside from this, the New Zealand calendar on Monday was absent. Still, it will report the NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion on Tuesday, which will be revealed at around 21:00 GMT.
What to watch
Nearby New Zealand, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to hike rates by 50 bps late this Tuesday. On the United States front, the calendar will reveal Durable Good Orders alongside JOLTs Jobs Openings on Tuesday, ahead of September’s Nonfarm Payrolls report, announced on Friday.
NZD/USD Key Technical Levels