NZD/USD consolidates gains, trades above 0.6320 after US data

• Annual core inflation in the United States (US) stayed unchanged at 2.4%.
• US Dollar Index stays in the lower half of its daily range.
• Attention remains on the US-China high-level trade negotiations.

The NZD/USD pair gained traction during the Asian trading hours on Thursday and rose above the 0.63 handle. However, for the third straight day this week, the pair struggled to break above the interim resistance that seems to have formed at 0.6330. As of writing, the pair was up 0.5% on the day at 0.6324.

Earlier in the day, the New Zealand Monthly Inflation Gauge report, released by the ANZ Bank, ticked up to 3% in September from 2.9% in August and provided support to the NZD. More importantly, heightened hopes of the United States (US) and China reaching at least a partial trade deal allowed antipodean currencies  to outperform its rivals.  

USD struggles to find demand on Thursday

On the other hand, the recovering market sentiment also weighed on the Greenback and allowed the pair to preserve its bullish momentum.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics today reported that inflation in September, as measured by the core Consumer Price Index (CPI), stayed unchanged at 2.4% as expected. Although the US Dollar Index rebounded modestly from daily lows after the data, it was still down 0.33% on the day at 98.78 at the time of press.

The US economic docket won’t be featuring any other significant macroeconomic data releases in the remainder of the day and participants will be paying close attention to headlines coming out of the trade negotiations in Washington.

Technical levels to watch for