11 Februari 2016 2:17 AM
The NZD/USD pair fluctuates between gains and losses amid a volatile Asia, with risk-off trades persisting in full swing as global equities and oil continue to fall.
NZD/USD reverses a 50-pips spike to daily highs
Currently, the NZD/USD pair trades almost unchanged at 0.6682, heading for a test of daily low reached at 0.6674 in opening trades. The Kiwi halted its four-day winning streak and fell sharply from 0.6735 session highs after a renewed bout of risk-aversion wave caught markets, with USD/JPY dropping below 113 handle and gold rallying through 1200 mark. Further, the black gold also extended lower, with the US oil down -2% and Brent losing -1.40%. Therefore, the demand for higher-yielding currencies such as the NZD was badly hit, driving the sudden 50-pips drop seen over the last hours.
Moreover, markets completely ignored upbeat comments from the rating agency Moody, nothing that they are comfortable with New Zealand's AAA rating, with the outlook remaining stable. While falling house prices in NZ could be one of the reasons that the Kiwi came under fresh selling pressure in the recent dealings. National median house price fell 3.7% m/m in January but rose 5.2% y/y to NZ$448,000, data from REINZ showed.
Meanwhile, markets appear to move past Yellen’s optimistic comments and now focus on oil and stocks amid holiday-thinned trading ahead.
NZD/USD Levels to consider
To the upside, the next resistance is located at 0.6717/35 (daily R1 & high), above which it could extend gains to 0.6755/63 (Feb 5 & Jan 5 High) levels. To the downside immediate support might be located at 0.6666/52 (1h 20-SMA/ 5-DMA) and from there to 0.6606/ 0.6595 (1h 200-SMA/ 200-DMA).
The NZD/USD pair fluctuates between gains and losses amid a volatile Asia, with risk-off trades persisting in full swing as global equities and oil continue to fall.
