NZD/USD turned bullish in October as the USD started the bearish trend, following the softer FED comments and a slowing US economy. This forex pair retreated lower in February as the US economy rebounded, but the 200 SMA (purple) has been acting as support on the daily chart, holding the price during the retreating periods.
Last month NZD/USD was retreating lower since the first week, but the retreat stopped at the 200 SMA again and after the bound off this moving average late last week, it seems like buyers might resume control again. Yesterday the bullish momentum picked up again after the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered a surprising 25 basis points rate hike, which sent the AUD almost 100 pips higher, pulling the NZD higher as well.
Early this morning the employment report from New Zealand was released, with expectations for the unemployment rate to tick higher. Alth0ugh, the rate remained unchanged in Q1 at 3.4%, while the employment change jumped by 0.8%. But, the labour cost index posted a decline, which is a dovish sign for the RBNZ.
New Zealand Jobs Report for Q1 2023
- Unemployment Rate 3.4% vs 3.5% expected
- Q4 of 2022 unemployment rate was 3.4% prior
- Employment change Q1 0.8% vs 0.4% expected
- Previous unemployment change was 0.2%
- Labour cost index change for Q1 0.9% vs 1.1% expected
- Labour cost index change for Q4 of 2022 was 1.1%
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