NZD/USD holds daily gains following soft data from the US

• The NZD/USD rose near the 0.6090 area following two days of losses.
• Services PMIs from the US came in soft, and Jobless Claims slightly increased at the end of July.
• All eyes are now on Friday’s NFPs.

On Thursday, the NZD/USD bulls stepped up and pushed the price near the 0.6090 area. In the meantime, investors digest fresh mid-tier economic data from the US ahead of Friday's awaited Nonfarm Payrolls (NFPs).

The Services sector from the US in July showed weakness. The S&P index came in at 52.3, lower than the consensus and previous figures of 52.4, while the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) came in at 52.7, failing to live up to the expected 53 and the last 53.9. Labor market data showed Jobless Claims slightly increasing to 227,000 at the end of July, according to expectations. Unit Labor Costs from Q2 increased by 1.6%, lower than the 2.6% expected and the previous 3.3%.

Overall, the Services sector is resilient, while the labour market flashed mixed signals during the week. Nonfarm Payrolls (NFPs) on Friday will provide investors a clearer outlook of the sector alongside wage inflation and unemployment figures.

Following the data, the DXY cleared daily gains, which saw the index peaking at 102.83 and then settling at 102.57, seesawing between small gains and losses. 

NZD/USD Levels to watch

With both Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) comfortably placed in negative territory on the daily chart, the NZD/USD sellers hold the upper hand. Additionally, the pair is below the 20,100 and 200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), indicating a challenging position for the buyers in the bigger picture as the bears remain in command.

Support levels: 0.6060, 0.6050, 0.6035.
Resistance levels:0.6100, 0.6130, 0.6150.

NZD/USD Daily chart