NZD/USD aims to recapture 0.6500 amid cheerful market mood, US GDP hogs limelight

• NZD/USD is marching higher to recapture the 0.6500 hurdle amid the risk-on market mood.
• An absence of inflation softening in New Zealand might force the RBNZ to hike interest rates further.
• The US Dollar will display a power-pack action after the release of the US GDP and Core PCE data.

The NZD/USD pair has rebounded after a minor correction to near 0.6470 in the early Asian session. The kiwi asset is looking to recapture the psychological resistance of 0.6500 amid positive market sentiment. The New Zealand Dollar displayed sheer volatility on Wednesday after the release of the Q4CY2022 Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.

The annual CPI of New Zealand for the fourth quarter increased marginally to 7.2% from the expectations of 7.1% but remained constant in comparison with the prior release. Also, the inflation rate escalated marginally to 1.4% vs. the expectations of 1.3% on a quarterly basis. An absence of inflation softening in the Kiwi zone indicated that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) might continue to hike interest rates further to contain soaring inflation.

It is worth noting that RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr has already increased the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 4.25% and might be forced to continue to tighten policy further amid a hot-inflated environment.

Meanwhile, investors’ risk appetite has improved again as S&P500 recovered losses witnessed earlier on Wednesday. The US Dollar Index (DXY) has cracked to a near seven-month low of around 101.40 as the pace of policy tightening by the Federal Reserve (Fed) is set to calm down further. Analysts at Wells Fargo warned that the greenback has already embarked on a prolonged period of depreciation that could last into 2024. They further added that relative economic growth performance and monetary policy outlook have turned less supportive of the US dollar.

Going forward, investors will witness a power-pack action by the US Dollar after the release of the United States Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, which is expected to contract to 2.6% from the prior release of 3.2%. Apart from that, investors will also focus on Durable Goods Orders and Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) data.