NZD/USD Forecast – New Zealand Dollar Under Significant Pressure
- – New Zealand Dollar was crushed recently against the US Dollar for a move below 0.7000.
- – The NZD/USD pair is following a monster descending channel pattern with resistance at 0.6970 on the hourly chart.
- – The New Zealand Manufacturing sales, released by Statistics New Zealand posted a decline of 1.8% in Q4 2016, compared with the last +2.1%.
New Zealand Manufacturing Sales
Today in New Zealand, the Manufacturing sales report for Q4 2016 was released by Statistics New Zealand. The market was expecting the volume of the physical output of the nation’s factories, mines and utilities to increase by around 1% in Q4 2016.
The outcome was well below the market expectation, as the New Zealand Manufacturing sales registered a decline of 1.8% in Q4 2016. The report added that the “volume of meat and dairy product manufacturing fell in the December 2016 quarter, although sales values rose due to higher prices”. In China today, the trade balance figures for Feb 2017 were released. They also failed to impress with a trade deficit of -60.4B CNY, compared with the last surplus of 354.5B CNY.
Overall, the New Zealand dollar is likely to remain under bearish pressure, and could trade towards 0.6900 against the US Dollar in the near term.
NZD/USD Technical Analysis
There was a solid downside move in New Zealand dollar, as it tumbled below 0.7040 and 0.7000 support levels vs the US Dollar. The NZD/USD pair is under heavy pressure, and following a monster descending channel pattern with resistance at 0.6970 on the hourly chart.
The pair is currently attempting a recovery from the 0.6935 low, but likely to face sellers near the 0.6970 or 0.6960 level. The same level also coincides with the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the 0.7045 high to 0.6934 low.
No doubt, the pair remains at a risk of more downside, and it could trade close to the 0.6900 level. The current descending channel clearly highlights the bearish pressure, and a break below 0.7000 could spark further downsides. If you are a seller, look to sell rallies, but protect it when there is a change in the trend or RSI moves back above the 50 level.
