NZD/USD rallies 30+ pips after NZ CPI crosses market expectations

• NZD/USD benefits from better than forecast New Zealand (NZ) CPI data.
• CPI QoQ came in above 0.6% expectations to 0.7%, YoY figure grew past-1.4% consensus to 1.5%.
• Trade headlines, Fedspeak and US Retail Sales will be in the spotlight for now.

With the headline inflation data crossing downbeat market consensus, NZD/USD rallies more than 30 pips to 0.6320 by the press time of early Wednesday morning in Asia.

New Zealand’s third quarter (Q3) Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose above the market consensus of 0.6% and 1.4% to 0.7% and 1.5% on QoQ and YoY basis respectively.

While the initial reaction to the data was upbeat considering market expectations of a downbeat print, the price gauge still pushes the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) to hold its bearish bias.

The Kiwi pair has recently been under pressure as ping-pong on the trade front helped the US Dollar (USD) while cutting down on the commodities front. It should also be noted that the Global Daily Trade (GDT) Price Index data, 0.5% versus 1.8%, added weakness to the quote.

With no major data/events up for publishing, investors will keep an eye over the trade headlines and the US economic calendar that is up for publishing the United States’ (US) Retail Sales figures for September and some Fedspeak.

Technical Analysis

50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), around 0.6370 now, keep limiting pair’s near-term upside while 0.6260, 0.6250 and 0.6200 are likely adjacent rests that the bears can avail during further declines.