NZD / USD extends slide to new daily low near 0.7150

• NZD / USD turned south after trading around 0.7200 earlier in the day.
• The broad-based USD strength continues to drag NZD / USD lower.
• Focus shifts to January US Non-Farm Payrolls report.

The pair NZD / USD It moved sideways around 0.7200 during the first half of the day, but lost its traction in the US session amid renewed strength in the USD. At time of writing, the pair was down 0.7% on the day at 0.7156.

DXY rally remains intact as focus shifts to NFP

Earlier in the day, the strong rally seen in GBP / USD following the Bank of England (BOE) policy announcements made it difficult for the dollar to retain its strength. However, the US Dollar Index (DXY) reversed course with US traders returning to the markets and rose to its highest level in more than two weeks at 91.58. At the moment, the DXY is gaining 0.4% on the day at 91.55 and is up more than 1% since the beginning of the week.

Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that initial jobless claims last week fell by 33,000 to 779,000 and exceeded market expectations of 830,000.

No New Zealand macro data will be released on Friday and investors will be waiting for the US Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) report Market consensus points to a 50,000 rise in NFPs after the disappointing December reading of -140,000. A strong reading could help the USD end the week on a firm footing and force the NZD / USD to stay under bearish pressure.

Technical levels