NZD/USD drops to daily low at 0.6170 ahead of US Pres. Trump’s presser

• NZD/USD lost its traction after advancing to 0.6240 earlier in the day.
• Souring market sentiment helps greenback gather strength in American session.
• Investors are waiting for US President Donald Trump’s press conference on China.

The NZD/USD pair capitalized on the broad-based USD weakness and surged to its highest level since March 12th at 0.6241. However, the risk-averse environment in the second half of the day forced the pair to make a sharp U-turn. As of writing, the pair was slightly above the daily low it set at 0.6170, losing 0.42% on the day.

Earlier in the day, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which closed the previous three days in the negative territory, extended its slide and touched its lowest level in more than two months at 97.95.

Eyes on US President Trump’s press conference

The report published by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday showed that Personal Spending fell by 13.6% on a monthly basis in April. Moreover, the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation, fell to 1% on a yearly basis from 1.7%. Nevertheless, these data was largely ignored by the market participants.

Later in the American session, the cautious mood on worries over US-China tensions helped the greenback recovery its losses. At the moment, the DXY is virtually unchanged on the day at 98.50. According to a Bloomberg reporter’s tweet, US President Trump is weighing sanctions that target China’s financial sector. Investors are waiting eagerly for Trump’s press conference at 1800 GMT.

Technical levels to watch for