NZD/USD flat near mid-0.69s, on track for second straight positive weekly close
- RBNZ meeting and weaker USD supported the pair's rise this week.
- DXY continues to tread water below mid-94s.
The NZD/USD pair is trading in a 35-pip range on Friday and lacks directional strength as markets stay in a consolidation mode amid a quiet economic calendar. At the moment, the pair is at 0.6945, virtually unchanged on the day.
The RBNZ published its monetary policy statement on Wednesday and helped the kiwi gain strength against its rivals as it announced its plan to raise rates in the second quarter of 2019 amid an upbeat economic outlook. Although the pair retraced a portion of its gains on Thursday, it's still looking to close the week with modest gains.
On the other hand, the US Dollar Index's recent rally stalled yesterday as the US Senate's version of the tax bill highlighted a delay in the corporate tax reduction until 2019 in an effort to ease the burden on the federal debt. Following a failed attempt to pierce through the 95 resistance earlier this week, the DXY reversed course in the second half of the week. At the moment, the index is at 94.30, down 0.15% on the day.
With no macroeconomic data left in the remainder of the session, the pair is likely to stay in its recent range as investors get ready to wrap up the week.
Technical outlook
FXStreet's technical confluence indicator assigns the first technical resistance for the pair at 0.6975 (Fibo 38.2% retracement of monthly range) ahead of 0.7080 (50-DMA) and 0.7140 (200-DMA). On the downside, supports could be seen at 0.6920 (10-DMA), 0.6870 (Nov. 6 low) and 0.6820 (Oct. 31 low).
- NZD/USD seen at 0.70 in Q1 2018 – UOB