NZD/USD flirts with daily low, around 0.6300 mark amid modest USD strength

• NZD/USD fails to preserve its modest intraday gains amid some follow-through USD buying.
• Bets that the Fed will continue to raise interest rates offer some support to the greenback.
• The optimism over the easing of restrictions in China limits losses for the risk-sensitive Kiwi.

The NZD/USD pair attracts some intraday selling near the 0.6355 area on Tuesday and drops to the lower end of its daily range during the early European session. The pair is currently trading around the 0.6300 mark, which if broken decisively will set the stage for an extension of the overnight sharp pullback from the highest level since mid-August.

The US Dollar gains some positive traction and looks to build on the overnight solid recovery move from over a five-month low, which, in turn, acts as a headwind for the NZD/USD pair. Against the backdrop of Friday's upbeat US monthly jobs report, the stronger US ISM Services PMI print on Monday suggested that the economy remained resilient despite rising borrowing costs. This fueled speculations that the Fed may lift interest rates more than projected and is seen as a key factor acting as a tailwind for the greenback.

Market participants, however, seem convinced that the US central bank could scale back the pace of its rate-hiking cycle and have been pricing in a relatively smaller 50 bps lift-off in December. Apart from this, the latest optimism over the easing of COVID-19 curbs in China keeps a lid on the safe-haven buck and helps limit the downside for the NZD/USD pair, at least for the time being. The mixed fundamental backdrop warrants some caution for aggressive bearish traders and before confirming that the major has topped out.

Tuesday's relatively thin US economic docket, featuring the release of Trade Balance data, might do little to provide any impetus to the NZD/USD pair. That said, the US Treasury bond yields, along with the market risk sentiment, could influence the USD price dynamics and produce short-term opportunities around the major.

Technical levels to watch