NZD/USD erases majority of daily gains, retreats to 0.6550 area
- NZD/USD lost its traction after rising toward 0.6500.
- US Dollar Index started to push higher following Thursday’s correction.
- Durable Goods Orders will be released form the US on Friday.
The NZD/USD pair rose to a fresh daily high of 0.6592 in the early trading hours of the European session but lost its traction. As of writing, the pair was posting small daily gains at 0.6557. For the week, NZD/USD is still down more than 100 pips.
DXY edges higher ahead of Durable Goods Orders data
There were no macroeconomic data releases from New Zealand on Friday and the USD’s market valuation remained the primary driver of NZD/USD’s movements.
A late rebound witnessed in Wall Street’s main indexes on Thursday caused the safe-haven greenback to lose interest and the US Dollar Index (DXY) snapped a four-day winning streak. However, the cautious market mood, as reflected by slumping European stocks, is helping the USD outperform its rivals ahead of the American session.
At the moment, the US Dollar Index is up 0.2% on the day at 94.53 and the S&P 500 futures are down 0.4%, suggesting that major equity indexes in the US could start the last day of the week in the negative territory.
Later in the day, the US Census Bureau will release the Durable Goods Orders data for August. Analysts expect a 1.5% increase following July’s upsurge of 11.4%. If a better-than-expected reading provides a boost to risk sentiment, the USD could struggle to preserve its strength in the second half of the day.