NZD/USD steadily climbs to fresh session tops, 0.6900 mark back on sight

   “¢   The USD bulls remain on the defensive amid signs of easing inflationary pressure.
   “¢   US-China trade optimism/risk-on mood remains supportive of the positive move.
   “¢   A sustained move beyond the 0.6900 handle needed to confirm any further gains.

After an initial dip to 0.6840 area, the NZD/USD pair regained some positive traction and was now seen building on the overnight late rebound from two-week lows.

The pair extended last week’s retracement slide from near six-month tops and lost some additional ground on Wednesday. The pair broke through one-week old trading range support but managed to find some buying interest at lower level amid some renewed US Dollar selling.

A combination of factors – signs of easing US-China trade tensions and slowing inflationary pressure in the US, exerted some fresh downward pressure on the greenback and turned out to be one of the key factors extending some support to the major.  

The USD bulls held on the defensive and kept pushing the pair higher through the Asian session on Thursday. Bulls largely shrugged off NZ Treasury’s forecast for slower economic growth, and a smaller surplus, and rather took cues from the annual average wage growth forecast of more than 3% a year during the next five years.

It would now be interesting to see if the pair is able to build on the intraday positive momentum or continues with its struggle to sustain above the 0.6900 handle amid absent relevant market moving economic releases on Thursday.

Technical levels to watch