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Forex - NZD/USD weekly outlook: April 15 - 19

Published 04/14/2013, 07:44 AM
Updated 04/14/2013, 07:44 AM
Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar came off a 20-month high against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, as appetite for growth-linked assets weakened following the release of disappointing U.S. economic data.

NZD/USD hit 0.8675 on Thursday, the pair’s highest since August 3, 2011; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8588 by close of trade, holding on to a 1.8% gain for the week.

The pair is likely to find support at 0.8545, Friday’s low and resistance at 0.8675, Thursday’s high and a 20-month high.

The U.S. Commerce Department said in a report Friday that retail sales fell 0.4% in March, the largest decline in nine months and missing expectations for a 0.1% increase.

A separate report showed that the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 72.3 in April, the lowest level since July, from a final reading of 78.6 in March.

Earlier in the week, the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting showed that several policymakers favored an early end to the bank’s asset purchase program.

The Fed minutes, which were inadvertently released ahead of schedule, showed that that a few policymakers saw quantitative easing tapering around midyear, while several others believed it would be appropriate to slow later in the year and to stop by the end of the year.

However, the impact of the minutes was muted as the meeting was held before nonfarm payrolls data showed that the U.S. economy added far fewer than expected jobs in March.

In the coming week, the U.S. is to publish a broad range of economic data, with reports on manufacturing activity, the housing sector and inflation due for release. Investors will be closely watching this data as they attempt to gauge the strength of the U.S. recovery.

Market participants will also be watching a flurry of Chinese economic reports due this week to gauge the strength of the world’s second largest economy and a key trading partner of the Pacific nation.

In addition, investors will be looking ahead to a report on consumer price inflation from New Zealand.

Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets. The guide skips Friday as there are no relevant events on this day.

Monday, April 15

China is to release official data on first quarter gross domestic product, the broadest indicator of economic activity and the leading measure of the economy’s health. Beijing is also to release government data on retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment.

The U.S. is to publish data on manufacturing activity in New York state, a leading economic indicator.

Tuesday, April 16

The U.S. is to publish official data on building permits, an excellent indicator of future construction activity and on housing starts. The U.S. is also to release data on consumer inflation, industrial production and the capacity utilization rate.

Wednesday, April 17

New Zealand is to release official data on consumer inflation.

Thursday, April 18

The U.S. is to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims as well as data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.

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