NZD/USD retreats to 0.6100 area on broad USD strength

• NZD/USD falls for second straight day on Friday.
• Retail Sales in New Zealand declined by 0.7% in first quarter.
• US Dollar Index pushes higher, closes in on 100. 

The NZD/USD pair snapped its three-day winning streak on Thursday and closed 30 pips lower. With the greenback preserving its strength on Friday, the pair extended its slide and was last seen trading a few pips above 0.6100, where it was down 0.15% on a daily basis.

Earlier in the day, the data published by Statistics New Zealand revealed that Retail Sales in the first quarter declined by 0.7%. However, Retail Sales Excluding Autos rose by 0.6% in the same period to allow the NZD to stay resilient against its rivals during the Asian session.

DXY climbs higher toward 100

Meanwhile, the souring market sentiment as reflected by the uninspiring performance of global equity indexes is helping the greenback extend its rebound that started on Thursday. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tested 99 on Wednesday, gained 0.25% on Thursday and was last seen up 0.4% at 99.81.

There won’t be any significant macroeconomic data releases from the US in the remainder of the day and investors will be keeping a close eye on Wall Street. At the moment, the S&P 500 futures are down 0.35% on the day and if the selling pressure on risk-sensitive stocks remains intact, the USD could continue to gather strength and weigh on NZD/USD.

Technical levels to watch for