NZD/USD erases gains, drops toward daily lows near 0.6515
- Kiwi losses momentum versus US dollar remains in a range
- US data: New home sales soar in July while Consumer confidence tumbles in August
The NZD/USD spiked to 0.6558 after the beginning of the American session but then turned to the downside, back to the 0.6535 area. Since Friday, the pair has been unable to move away from that level. The move higher took place amid a decline of the greenback that later recovered strength, keeping NZD/USD in a tight range.
The greenback is posting mixed results on Tuesday, by rising sharply versus the yen but down against most of majors currencies. Economic data from the US came in mixed. While new home sales surged above expectations to the highest level since December 2006 in July, consumer confidence numbers for August registered a sharp decline. Market participants mostly ignored those numbers.
In Wall Street, equity prices spent most of the time in positive territory but turned during the last hours. The Dow Jones is falling 0.42% while S&P500 and Nasdaq gain modestly. Earlier, optimism about US/China relationship improved market sentiment.
The NZD/USD continues to move sideways, around 0.6535. A consolidation above 0.6550 could point to further gains, while below 0.6515, losses under 0.6500 seem likely. In the G10 space, the kiwi is among the worst performers. AUD/NZD is trading modestly higher on Tuesday. Early on Wednesday, the July Trade Balance report is due.
Technical levels