The New Zealand dollar is slightly higher on Thursday. In the North American session, NZD/USD is trading at 0.6376, up 0.34%.

New Zealand manufacturing in trouble

New Zealand’s manufacturing sector is showing signs of strain, as high costs and hiring challenges in a tight labour market remain key problems. Manufacturing PMI contracted in October, for the first time since August 2021, dropping from 51.7 to 49.3. We’ll get a look at the November report next week. Manufacturing Sales slipped 4.9% in Q2, and third-quarter data will be released on Friday. Another decline is expected, with a consensus of -2.4%.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand remains in hawkish mode and hiked by 75 bp at its last meeting, bringing the cash rate to 4.25%. The RBNZ considered a full-point increase, which is indicative of how seriously policy makers view the threat of high inflation, which has hit 7.2%.

The RBNZ now has a long break until the next meeting on February 22^nd, which will give it plenty of time to gauge the effect of its steep tightening on the domestic economy. The Federal Reserve will hold two more meetings before then – one on December 14^th and one on February 10th. The markets have priced in a 50-bp increase at next week’s meeting, which takes place just a day after the November inflation report. With the Fed’s focus on inflation, recent CPI reports have been major market movers for the US dollar, and I expect the same from next week’s report. Investors will also be keeping a close eye on Friday’s inflation data out of the US – the Producers Price Index and UoM inflation expectations.

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NZD/USD Technical

• NZD/USD faces resistance at 0.6497 and 0.6585
• There is support at 0.6327 and 0.6239

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.

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• Source: https://www.marketpulse.com/20221208/nzd-usd-extends-gains-ahead-of-mfg-sales/