NZD/USD reclaims the 0.6800 figure amid a mixed market mood

• The risk-sensitive NZD advances on a mixed-market mood.
• US Treasury yields rise, though falter of dragging the greenback, which heads south of the 96.00 threshold.
• NZD/USD has a downward bias and might accelerate the downtrend once the 0.6800 figure is broken.

The New Zealand dollar grinds higher, recovering from earlier losses from the Asian session as the New York session progresses, trading at 0.6827 at the time of writing. Investors’ mood is upbeat as US equities recover some ground, except for the Nasdaq Composite, which falls 0.02%.

US Treasury yields rise but falter to lift the greenback

In the FX market, risk-sensitive currencies like the NZD and the AUD rise, courtesy of a softer USD trading session, with the US Dollar Index falling some 0.27%, under the 96.00 threshold for the first time in the week. Meanwhile, US Treasury bond yields advance sharply during the New York session, with the 10-year Treasury yield up to six basis points, sitting at 1.541%, faltering of boosting the greenback.

In the meantime, the US economic docket featured the Goods Trade Balance for November, which showed a wider deficit than expected, coming at 97.78B more than the 89.00 Billion estimated. Furthermore, Pending Home Sales for the same period, on a monthly basis, shrank 2.2%, worse than the 0.5% increase expected, showing the first signs of inflationary pressures mounting on consumers.

NZD/USD Price Forecast: Technical outlook

The NZD/USD daily chart shows the pair has a downward bias, as the daily moving averages (DMAs) reside well above the spot price with a bearish slope with the shorter time-frame ones, below the longer ones. Technical indicators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 49 aim lower, suggesting that the pair might have another leg-down.

The first line of defense for NZD bulls would be the 0.6800 figure. A breach of the latter would expose December’s 27 and 28 daily low at 0.6788 and then major support at December’s 20 cycle low at 0.6702.