NZD/USD consolidates daily gains, returns to mid-0.68s

• NZD/USD starts the week on a positive note.
• There won’t be any macroeconomic data releases in the NA session.
• US Dollar Index fails to stage a recovery on Monday.

The NZD/USD pair is recording modest gains on Monday boosted by the improved market sentiment and a weaker greenback. As of writing, the pair was trading at 0.6850, adding 10 pips on the day.

The positive tone surrounding metal prices helped the commodity-sensitive currencies on Monday and also allowed the risk appetite to come back to markets. The Japanese Nikkei  225 ended the day 1.2% higher and major European indices are sticking to modest gains, which suggest that Wall Street could start the day higher.

On the other hand, following last Friday’s losses on the mixed employment data, the greenback is having a difficult time finding demand on Monday amid a lack of macroeconomic data releases or fundamental developments that would remind investors of the Fed looking to make another rate hike in September. As of writing, the DXY was trading at 93.53, losing 0.25% on the day.

The next data of significance for the pair will be the electronic card retail sales from New Zealand scheduled to be released in the early Asian session on Tuesday.  

Technical levels to consider

The pair could face the first resistance at 0.6860 (daily high) followed by 0.6910 (50-DMA), and 0.7000 (psychological level). On the downside, supports are located 0.6780 (Jul. 6 low), 0.6735 (Jun. 29 low) and 0.6685 (Jul. 4 low).