Key Highlights
- The New Zealand Dollar started a major downtrend and settled below 0.7150 against the US Dollar.
- There is a crucial bearish trend line forming with resistance at 0.7100 on the 4-hours chart of NZD/USD.
- New Zealand’s Electronic Card Retail Sales in Sep 2017 increased 0.1% (MoM).
- Today in the US, the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index for Oct 2017 will be released, which is forecasted to increase from 53.4 to 54.2.
NZDUSD Technical Analysis
The New Zealand Dollar struggled a lot above 0.7250 against the US Dollar. The NZD/USD pair started a downtrend and is currently trading below 0.7150.
The pair was under a lot of pressure and even succeeded in breaking the 0.7160-0.7150 support area, which might now act as a resistance. Recently, the pair traded as low as 0.7055 and is currently recovering.
An initial resistance is around the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the 0.7243 high to 0.7055 low. Moreover, there is a crucial bearish trend line forming with resistance at 0.7100 on the 4-hours chart.
If the pair continues to correct higher, it is likely to face sellers near 0.7100. Above 0.7100, the 0.7150 and $0.7160 resistances might act as major hurdles.
New Zealand’s Electronic Card Retail Sales
Recently in New Zealand, the Electronic Card Retail Sales for Sep 2017 was reported by Statistics New Zealand. The forecast was slated for a rise of 0.7% in sales compared with the previous month.
The actual result was on the lower side, as there was an increase of 0.1% in sales. However, the last reading was revised up from -0.2% to +0.1%. In terms of the yearly change, there was a rise of 2.9%, which was lower than the last +4.4%.
Commenting on the report, the retail manager, Sue Chapman, stated:
This drop in fuel spending coincided with lower fuel prices at the beginning of the quarter. We can’t draw any firm conclusions about the impact of the general election on electronic card spending in September.
The overall sentiment is neutral for NZD/USD, which means there can be a tiny correction towards 0.7120-0.7150 in the near term.
Other Economic Releases to Watch Today
UK Industrial Production for August 2017 (MoM) – Forecast +0.2%, versus +0.2% previous.
UK Manufacturing Production for August 2017 (MoM) – Forecast +0.3%, versus +0.5% previous.
UK Trade Balance non-EU for August 2017 – Forecast £-3.60B, versus £-3.84B previous.
UK Goods Trade Balance for Oct 2017 – Forecast £-11.20B, versus £-12.58B previous.
US IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index for Oct 2017 (MoM) – Forecast 54.2, versus 53.4 previous.
