The New Zealand dollar was little changed during the Asian session as investors reacted to the mixed trade numbers. According to the Statistics Bureau, exports fell from $5.08 billion in June to $4.9 billion in July. In the same month, imports increased slightly from $4.61 billion to $4.63 billion. As a result, the trade surplus declined from the previous $475 million to $282 million. These numbers came at a time when the number of coronavirus cases in New Zealand has dropped slightly. Also, the country’s government recently extended the lockdown in Auckland for four more days.
The US dollar index rose slightly during the Asian session. The pair is reacting to the mixed economic data from the United States that came out yesterday. Data from the Conference Board showed that consumer confidence declined from 91.7 in July to 84.8 in August. This decline was lower than the 93.0 that analysts were expecting. It was also the second straight month that the confidence has dropped. Other data showed that new home sales in the US rose by 13.9% in July to 901K. That was significantly higher than the 1.3% increase that analysts were expecting. Later today, the dollar will react to durable goods orders numbers from the United States.
The price of crude oil rose above a key resistance as traders reacted to the weekly stock numbers released by the American Petroleum Institute (API). The data showed that oil inventories in the US dropped by more than 4.5 million in the previous week. That was a bigger decline compared to the previous 4.26 million. The price will react to the official inventory data from the EIA. Analysts expect that the inventories dropped by more than 3.69 million barrels. Separately, Mexico will release its GDP data while Singapore will release its industrial production numbers today.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD pair was little changed during the Asian session and is trading at 1.1820. On the daily chart, the price is above the 50-day and 100-day EMA. The price is also forming a bullish pennant pattern that is shown in white. This pennant sends a signal that there is indecision between bulls and bears in the market. Also, the two lines of the Relative Vigor Index have dropped to the neutral line. Therefore, the pair is likely to remain in this holding pattern ahead of Jerome Powell’s speech tomorrow.
XBR/USD
The XBR/USD pair rose to an intraday high of 46.36. On the four-hour chart, the price is above the 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages. The price has also reached the upper side of the rising wedge pattern and the Average True Range (ATR) has been rising. While the pair is likely to continue rising, there is also a possibility that bears will attempt to retest the lower side of the wedge at 45.00 again.
NZD/USD
The NZD/USD pair was little changed during the Asian session. It is trading at 0.6551, which is in the same range it was yesterday. On the daily chart, the price is along the 50-day simple moving average and above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. The signal and main lines of the MACD have moved below the neutral line while the price is also above the ascending trend line. The pair is likely to remain at this level ahead of the Jerome Powell speech.
