NZ dollar gains before US jobs report as charts suggest kiwi was oversold

Friday 4th May 2018

The New Zealand dollar gained ahead of US jobs data and after charts suggested the kiwi's decline left it oversold.

The kiwi dollar rose to 70.40 US cents as at 8am in Wellington from 70.17 cents late yesterday. The trade-weighted index rose to 73.45 from 73.27.

The kiwi fell as low as 69.83 UAS cents yesterday and its relative strength index fell to 24 on a scale where a reading below 30 suggests it is oversold. The US dollar index fell from its highest levels since late December ahead of employment figures tonight and amid perceptions that yesterday's statement from the Federal Reserve wasn't as bullish as some in the market had expected, even though it was seen to affirm more rate hikes this year.

"The kiwi is the best performer of the G10 currencies as the USD lost ground after yesterday morning’s Fed announcement underwhelmed the market," traders at HiFX said in a note. "

The US payrolls data is expected to show US unemployment fell to 4 percent from 4.1 percent while the world's biggest economy added188,000 workers in April.

The New Zealand dollar traded at 90.46 Canadian cents from 90.11 cents late yesterday, having earlier touched a four-month low, after figures showed Canada's trade deficit rose to a record in March as imports grew faster than exports.

The kiwi rose to 93.48 Australian cents from 93.25 cents yesterday. It rose to 4.4718 yuan from 4.4653 yuan and gained to 51.85 British pence from 51.60 pence. It was at 76.87 yen from 76.93 yen and rose to 58.73 euro cents from 58.50 cents.

(BusinessDesk)

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