NZD/USD is approaching slight resistance around 0.6780-90

  • The NZD extends its gains on the week, rising 2.03% against the USD.
  • Ukraine-Russia would resume negotiations on Thursday – Tass.
  • NZD/USD Technical Outlook: Neutral-Bearish, but if it cannot break resistance it would exacerbate a bearish move.
  • NZD/USD Technical Outlook: A bearish harami is coming on the daily chart.

The New Zealand dollar It is advancing for the second time this week and is approaching a two-month trend line resistance around 0.6790. At the time of writing, the NZD/USD is trading at 0.6779.

Investor sentiment improved slightly despite the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. Headlines about the conflict keep investors on their toes as high levels of volatility make it difficult to predict how financial assets would move. According to news wires, the second round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, scheduled for Wednesday, has been rescheduled. The Tass news agency reported that Ukrainian officials will arrive in Belarus on Thursday to continue discussions.

Market reaction was muted. Sentiment remains bullish as European indices close in the green, while US stocks rise.

Comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said, “We hope it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the fed funds rate at our meeting later this month,” adding that the US central bank had said it would be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate. The US would follow with cuts to its rate on $8.5 trillion of assets.

He added that “I am inclined to propose and support a rate hike of 25 basis points.” Powell said that “the bottom line is that we will proceed, but we will do so carefully as we learn more about the implications of the Ukraine war for the economy.”

The US economic docket featured the ADP employment change for February, which rose 475,000 more than the 388,000 estimate and could likely be a prelude to Friday’s Non-Farm Payrolls report.

NZD/USD Price Forecast: Technical Outlook

NZD/USD has a downside bias and is stuck inside Tuesday’s range due to the uncertainty surrounding the Ukraine-Russia war. If the pair closes inside that range, it will form a bearish-harami candlestick pattern. That said, if the market mood turns to risk aversion, that will accelerate a move lower towards lower prices. Also, the NZD/USD daily moving averages are above the price, except for the 50-day moving average (DMA).

If that scenario plays out, the first support for the NZD/USD would be the confluence of the Jan 6 high and the 50 DMA at 0.6733. A break of the latter would expose the Dec 15, 2021 high at 0.6701, followed by the Feb 24 daily low at 0.6630.

To the upside, NZD/USD’s first resistance would be a 2-month downtrend line around the 0.6780-90 range, followed by the 100 DMA at 0.6845 and Jan 13 daily high at 0.6890.

Additional technical levels

Source: Fx Street

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