NZD/USD gains momentum above the 0.5900 area, US Jobless Claims looms

• NZD/USD gains traction near 0.5935 on Thursday amid the USD weakness.
• The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) held the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 5.5% at its October meeting.
• US private payrolls for September rose by 89,000 vs. 180,000 prior.
• Traders will focus on the US Jobless Claims ahead of the Nonfarm Payrolls.

The NZD/USD pair gains momentum above the 0.5900 area during the early Asian session on Thursday. A recovery of the pair is bolstered by the correction in the US Dollar (USD) following the softer US labor data. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY) drops to 106.60. The pair currently trades near 0.5935, up 0.35% on the day.

At its October monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) held the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 5.5%, as widely expected. According to the RBNZ statement, the committee agreed that interest rates may need to remain at a restrictive level for a more sustained period of time.

The latest data from the National Bank ANZ revealed that New Zealand’s ANZ Commodity Price for September rose by 1.3% from a 2.9% drop in August. Earlier Tuesday, the nation’s NZIER Business Confidence for the third quarter (Q3) fell to -52% QoQ versus -63% in the previous reading.

On the US docket, US private payrolls for September rose by 89,000 from 180,000 in the previous reading, according to the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported on Thursday. This figure came in below the estimation of 153,000 and posted the lowest level since January 2021.

Meanwhile, the US ISM Services PMI fell to 53.6 in September from the previous reading of 54.5, matching the market estimation. The softer labor US data exert some selling pressure on the US dollar and acts as a tailwind for the NZD/USD pair.

Traders will take cues from US weekly Jobless Claims due on Thursday. The highlight of the week will be the US Nonfarm Payrolls on Friday. The US economy is expected to create 170,000 jobs in September. These events could give a clear direction to the NZD/USD pair.