NZD/USD hits weekly high due to US debt ceiling talks improving, soft USD

• NZD/USD recovered to a weekly high of 0.6290, buoyed by a favorable climate in US debt ceiling discussions and a weakening US Dollar.
• Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s statements about returning inflation to the 2% objective hint at a possibly delayed rate hike, affecting market dynamics.
• NZ Finance Minister’s remarks dampen inflation concerns ahead of the upcoming RBNZ monetary policy meeting, expected to result in a 25 bps rate hike.

NZD/USD recovers some ground and hits a new weekly high of 0.6290 amidst an upbeat market sentiment sponsored by improvement in US debt ceiling talks and a softer US Dollar (USD). That helped the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) to offset some of its weekly losses, reclaiming its recovery from the 200-day EMA. At the time of writing, the NZD/USD is trading at 0.6277.

Federal Reserve rate hike possibilities influence market mood as NZD recovers ground

Wall Street portrays solid gains, except for the Nasdaq 100. A light US economic calendar left traders adrift to recent data revealed by both parties included. On one side, solid Retail Sales and Industrial Production in the United States (US) increased the appetite for the greenback. That, alongside falling unemployment claims, pressured investors to scale back three rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) towards the year’s end; instead, odds for a rate hike in June rose to 40.4%, from a 15% a week ago.

Fed speakers crossed news wires earlier in the day, with Fed Williams saying that the natural rate of interest is still low despite the pandemic, while Michelle Bowman omitted to comment regards to monetary policy.

As of writing, the Fed Chair Jerome Powell is crossing newswires. He said that inflation is far above the objective and emphasized the Fed is strongly committed to returning inflation to the 2% objective, adding “failure would cause greater harm.” Powell added that the banking system is strong, and rates may not rise as otherwise due to tightening banking credit conditions.

Regarding the US debt ceiling discussions, US House Speaker McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Schumer are reportedly making plans to hold votes on it in the coming days, with McCarthy saying that current talks may yield a deal as soon as this weekend, adding, “I can see now where a deal can come together.”

Aside from this, on the New Zealand (NZ) front, the NZ Finance Minister, Robertsson, denied that the budget would cause a jump in inflation. He said, “It might sound like a lot of money, but across the government’s budget, it isn’t sufficient to argue that interest rates need to rise.” That comes ahead of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) monetary policy meeting next week, which is widely expected to be a 25 bps rate hike to 5.50%, with odds for a larger increase at 35%.

NZD/USD Technical Levels