NZD/USD: the New Zealand dollar is rising at the end of the week
The NZD/USD currency pair is actively strengthening, updating peaks since February 2 and checking the possibility of a breakout through 0.6120. The fundamental background of the market remains stable. The US dollar was supported by recent statements by members of the Federal Reserve System, including Jerome Powell, who indicated a preference for a more cautious approach to raising the cost of loans. This reduces the probability of an interest rate cut by 25 basis points in March to less than 20%, shifting the focus to the May meeting of the regulator.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar came under pressure after Chinese inflation data for January was published: the annual consumer price index fell by 0.8% after the previous reading of -0.3%, which turned out to be worse than the expected -0.5%. The monthly consumer price index rose 0.3%, accelerating from 0.1%.
- Resistance levels: 0.6130, 0.6155, 0.6192, 0.6221.
- Support levels: 0.6100, 0.6060, 0.6030, 0.6000.
AUD/USD: pullback after takeoff balanced the gains of the session on Tuesday
The AUD/USD currency pair is experiencing mixed emotions at the auction, not exceeding the critical mark of 0.6500. The previous day recorded a significant drop in the Australian dollar, effectively canceling the growth gains recorded on Tuesday after the decision of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
As expected, the RBA left the key rate at 4.35%, while in a statement stressing the expectation of a moderate decrease in inflation to the upper limits of the target range by 2025. This indicates a cautious approach to changing monetary policy, although the bank will continue to monitor global economic conditions. The further weakening of the Australian dollar was provoked by domestic economic statistics: the index of manufacturing activity from the Australian Industry Group (AiG) for December showed a decline. The Australian currency is also under pressure from data on consumer inflation in China, which slowed more than expected in January, indicating a slowdown in domestic demand and possible consequences for Australian exports of raw materials.
- Resistance levels: 0.6500, 0.6543, 0.6569, 0.6600.
- Support levels: 0.6480, 0.6450, 0.6400, 0.6356.
USD/JPY: January bank lending growth in Japan was 3.1%
In the Asian trading session, the USD/JPY currency pair shows moderate growth, stabilizing near the level of 149.40 and reaching new peaks since November 27.
Current statistics from Japan indicate the difficulties faced by the country's economy: the index tracking consumer spending dropped from 51.8 to 50.2 points in January amid the ongoing onslaught on household financial well-being. This is confirmed by the correction of the household expenditure index in December from -1.0% to -0.9% on a monthly basis and from -2.9% to -2.5% on an annual basis. In parallel, the volume of bank lending in January increased from 3.0% to 3.1%. However, the country's balance of payments for December, adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, showed a decrease from 1925.6 billion yen to 744.3 billion yen, which was significantly lower than analysts' expectations of 1018.9 billion yen.
- Resistance levels: 150.30, 151.80.
- Support levels: 147.90, 145.90.
USDX: the chance of a US rate cut in March is 20%, according to analysts
Today, during the Asian session, the US dollar stabilized at 104.00 in the USDX index after it restored the highs on November 14 at 104.40, aiming to end the week with a slight increase.
The strengthening of the dollar was provoked by the statements of the chairman of the US Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. He stressed the need to wait for further evidence of a steady decrease in inflation before deciding to lower interest rates, which forced analysts to reassess expectations and reduce the likelihood of monetary policy easing to 20% in March and to 60% in May.
The market's attention was focused on the latest data on the state of the US labor market, released the day before. According to these data, the number of initial applications for unemployment benefits decreased from 227.0 thousand to 218.0 thousand for the week ended February 2, and the number of repeated applications for the week ended January 26 decreased from 1.894 million to 1.871 million, which supported the dollar. However, by the end of the day, the Bulls had lost most of their gains. Now investors are waiting for data on consumer inflation in the United States, which will be published on Tuesday at 15:30 GMT+2.
- Resistance levels: 104.24, 104.70, 105.20, 105.82.
- Support levels: 103.60, 103.00, 102.45, 101.67.