- Nonfarm payrolls in the U.S. rise 312K in December.
- US Dollar Index pares daily losses, advances to 96.50 area.
- Coming up: Markit Services PMI report and FOMC Chairman Powell’s speech.
After inching higher above the 0.67 handle during the European trading hours, the NZD/USD pair came under pressure and turned negative on the day as the buck recovered its daily losses on the back of upbeat employment data. As of writing, the pair was down 0.15% on the day at 0.6680.
This week’s most anticipated data today revealed that nonfarm payrolls in the U.S. increased by 312,000 in December to beat the analysts’ estimate of 177K. Furthermore, average hourly earnings rose 3.2% on a yearly basis in December following November’s 3.1% reading and the labour force participation rate improved by 0.2% to 63.1%. The US Dollar Index, which slumped to 96.10 earlier today, gained traction following the employment data and was last seen up 0.25% on the day at 96.50.
Later in the session, the IHS Markit will release its final Services PMI report for December. More importantly, FOMC Chairman Powell and members Bost,c, Barkin, and Bullard are all scheduled to deliver speeches before markets warp up the week.
Technical levels to consider
The pair could face the first support at 0.6670 (daily low) ahead of 0.6615 (Jan. 3 low) and 0.6575 (Jan. 2 low). On the upside, resistances are located at 0.6710 (daily high), 0.6745 (Dec. 26, 2018, high) and 0.6790 (Dec. 21, 2018, high).
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