NZD/USD recovered some of Thursday’s losses due to a mixed US NFP report, steady at around 0.6770s

• The New Zealand dollar advances some 0.46% as the North American session ends.
• A risk-off market mood was no excuse for the NZD to gain vs. the USD.
• NZD/USD Technical Outlook: Downward biased as long as it remains below 0.6859.

On Friday, the New Zealand dollar trimmed some of its Thursday’s losses despite a risk-off market mood. At the time of writing, the NZD/USD is trading at 0.6776 as the North American session ends.

US Nonfarm Payrolls headline misses expectations wages rose

The day’s highlight was the US Nonfarm Payrolls report, which was mixed. The headline showed that the US economy added “just” 199K employments in December, 201K short than the 400K estimated by analysts. 

Nevertheless, the Unemployment Rate -Fed’s gauge of labor market conditions- dropped 0.2%, from 4.1% to 3.9%, a level was last seen in February 2020, before the pandemic hit the US. Furthermore, Average Hourly Earnings for December grew 4.7% annually based, 0.5% higher than estimations, further cementing the Federal Reserve stance.

Market's reaction

The NZD/USD seesawed around Thursday’s lows and the daily pivot, in the 0.6738-65 range, to finally break above the latter, stabilizing around the 100-hour simple moving average (SMA) lying at 0.6780. furthermore, the US Treasury yields, led by the 10-year benchmark note, rose to a daily high at 1.801%, while the US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback’s performance against a basket of its rivals, slumped some 0.61%, sitting at 05.74.

NZD/USD Price Forecast: Technical outlook

The NZD/USD remains downward biased, per the daily chart. The simple moving averages (SMAs) on the latter reside above the spot price; additionally, a daily close above the last lower high around 0.6859 is needed for NZD bulls to have a chance of launching an attack towards the 100-day SMA at 0,6965.

The NZD/USD first support is the January 6 daily low at 0.6733. The latter’s breach would expose the psychological 0.6700 level, followed by a 2021 yearly low at 0.6701.