NZD/USD inches closer to 2019 low of 0.6525 as greenback continues to gather strength
- US Dollar Index climbs above 97.80 on Thursday.
- 10-year US T-bond yield retraces yesterday's fall.
- Coming up: Business NZ's PMI report and Q1 PPI data.
The NZD/USD started the day on a positive note and rose to 0.6580 in the Asian session but failed to preserve its momentum. With the greenback gathering further strength in the second half of the day, the pair extended its slide and moved closer to the 2019-low that it set at 0.6525 on May 8. As of writing, the pair was down 0.37% on the day.
With the risk sentiment improving in the absence of fresh developments surrounding the U.S.-China trade dispute, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield gained traction today and staged a decisive recovery to help the greenback outperform its major rivals.
The US Dollar Index, which spent the first half of the day moving sideways below 97.50, rose above the 97.80 mark for the first time in two weeks and was last up 0.27% on the day at 97.82. Today's data from the U.S. revealed that housing starts rose 5.7% in April and the initial weekly jobless claims decreased by 16K to 212K in the week ending May 10.
During the early trading hours of Friday, the Business NZ's April PMI reading, which is expected to improve to 54.5 in April from 51.9 in March, and first-quarter Producer Price Index (PPI) data from New Zealand will be looked upon for fresh impetus.
Technical levels to watch for