The New Zealand dollar rose to the highest level since March after the country’s central bank delivered its interest rate decision. The bank left interest rates unchanged at 0.25% and hinted that the rate will remain at this level in the first quarter of 2021. It also said that it was prepared to reduce the rate if required. In addition, the bank left the target of its quantitative easing program unchanged at n$100 billion. It will keep buying these assets until June 2022. The decision was similar to those by the Federal Reserve, and the European Central Bank.
Global stocks are mixed as traders react to the latest Covid-19 vaccine. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng is unchanged, while in China, the Shanghai composite dropped by 0.10%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 is up by more than 1.78%. In the US, the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and Russel are all in the green while in Europe, DAX futures have fallen. Investors are concerned about the logistics of distributing the Covid vaccine. They are also worried about its safety since vaccines tend to take years in development.
The price of crude oil rose during the Asian session as traders reacted to the latest inventories data from the US. According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), inventories in the US dropped by more than 8 million last week. That was a bigger decline than the 900k that analysts were expecting. Later today, the price will react to the official numbers by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). It will also react to the latest OPEC monthly report.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD pair was relatively unchanged during the Asian session. It is now trading at 1.1827, which is in the same range it has been since yesterday. On the hourly chart, the price has moved above the 15-day and 25-day exponential moving averages. It is also slightly above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is rising. With no major economic numbers expected today, the pair will likely remain in the present range.
XBR/USD
The XBR/USD pair rose to a high of 44.24, which is the highest it has been since September this year. The price is along the upper line of the Bollinger bands. Also, it has moved above the important resistance level at 43.71 while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) have moved above the overbought level. The price is also slightly above the short and medium-term moving averages. Therefore, the pair is likely to continue rising as bulls aim for the next resistance at 45.00.
NZD/USD
The NZD/USD pair rose to an intraday high of 0.6900 after the RBNZ decision. On the daily chart, the pair has moved above the important resistance at 0.6800. It has also moved above the 15-day and 25-day exponential moving averages. The signal and main lines of the MACD are above the neutral line, which is an indication that bulls are in control. Therefore, the pair is likely to continue rising as bulls aim for the next resistance at 0.7000.
