NZD/USD steadies above 0.67 as markets quiet down

• USD strength weighs on NZD/USD on Tuesday.
• Markets wait for developments around U.S. – China trade talks.
• US Dollar Index looks to finish the day in green, stays below 96.

The NZD/USD pair struggled to build on its recent gains on Tuesday and lost its traction as the greenback gathered strength against its rivals. After dropping to a 3-day low at 0.6708, the pair has gone into a consolidation phase and was last seen down 0.47% on the day at 0.6722.

Earlier in the day, the dismal performance of European currencies caused the market demand to shift toward the USD. Furthermore, a sharp increase seen in the T-bond yields supported the dollar’s upsurge and the US Dollar Index retraced a major  part of yesterday’s fall. At the moment, the DXY is up 0.27% on the day  at 95.92. The only data from the U.S. today showed that job openings in November came in at 6.9 million to fall short of the market expectation of 7.063 million.

Commenting on the data, “November was the 9th straight month with more job openings (JOLTS) 6.888 million than unemployed people 6.294 million.  This is the first occurrence in the 18-year history of the series,” noted FXStreet senior analyst Joseph Trevisani.

On the other hand, the latest headlines surrounding the trade conflict between the U.S. and China showed that despite some progress, the sides were not ready to reach a deal yet.  

In the early trading hours of the Asian session, the ANZ will publish its December Commodity Price Index, which showed a decline of 0.6% in November.  

Technical levels to consider