NZD/USD snaps two-day losing streak as buyers poke 0.6400 on firmer China data

• NZD/USD prints mild gains on upbeat China data.
• China Q4 GDP joins Industrial Production, Retail Sales for December to please Kiwi buyers.
• Mixed sentiment, sluggish yields add strength to the recovery moves.

NZD/USD renewed its intraday high to 0.6400 on upbeat China data, before retreating to 0.6385 during early Tuesday. Even so, the Kiwi pair prints mild gains while defying the two-day losing streak amid mixed sentiment.

China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fourth quarter (Q4) printed 0.0% QoQ figure versus -0.8% expected and 3.9% prior. Further details suggest that the Industrial Production for December grew 1.3% YoY versus 0.5% market forecasts and 2.2% prior readings. Additionally, Retail Sales improved to -1.8% YoY for December compared to -7.8% consensus and -5.9% prior.

Earlier in the day, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) released its Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO) and probed the NZD/USD buyers. The reason could be linked to the lowest business confidence in the Pacific nation since 1974, as per the quarterly survey.

Also read: NZIER QSBO: New Zealand business confidence at lowest since 1974

Elsewhere, the return of full markets restores bearish bias for the US Dollar, after portraying a corrective bounce the previous day, as the US Treasury yields fade the week-start rebound. Even so, the market’s risk appetite remains unclear as the S&P 500 Futures print mild losses as it retreats from the monthly high.

Moving ahead, the second-tier US data like NY Empire State Manufacturing Index for January, expected -4.5 versus -11.2 prior, may entertain NZD/USD pair traders ahead of Wednesday’s US Retail Sales for December, expected 0.1% YoY versus -0.6% prior.

Technical analysis

A one-week-old symmetrical triangle restricts immediate NZD/USD moves between 0.6375 and 0.6425.