The NZD/USD pair attracted some buying near 0.5785 during Thursday’s Asian session and reversed some of the previous day’s decline from the technically critical 200-day elementary moving average (SMA). Spot prices are moving beyond the disappointing release of New Zealand’s Q4 GDP print and are climbing to a fresh intraday high around 0.5820 in the last hour.
Statistics New Zealand reported earlier today that the economy grew by 0.2% in the October to December period, a noticeable slowdown compared to the 0.9% growth (adjusted from 1.1%) recorded in the third quarter. On an annual basis, the economy grew by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, compared with growth of 1.1% (adjusted from 1.3%) in the third quarter, with no estimate of growth of 1.7%. However, the New Zealand dollar (NZD) has little reaction to the gloomy data, and the weakening US dollar (USD) is a tailwind for the NZD/USD pair.
However, any significant drop in the dollar seems elusive given the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) hawkish outlook. As widely expected, the U.S. central bank kept the federal funds rate steady at 3.50%-3.75% at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. In its updated economic projections, the Fed raised its 2026 economic growth projection and year-end inflation forecast (PCE), citing risks from higher energy prices due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. Moreover, the Fed projected only one rate cut this year and one in 2027.
Moreover, the attack on the world’s largest natural gas field in Iran continues to support higher oil prices, stoking inflation fears and confirming the Fed’s hawkish expectations. This, combined with generally weaker equity market sentiment, could benefit the safe-haven Greenback and requires caution before making aggressive growth bets around the risk-sensitive NZD/USD pair. Traders are now looking to secondary U.S. economic data amid a flurry of central bank decisions that are expected to cause some market volatility.
Today’s US dollar price
The table below shows the current percentage change of the United States Dollar (USD) against the major listed currencies. The US dollar was strongest against the Canadian dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | BOOR | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.26% | -0.24% | -0.19% | -0.12% | -0.30% | -0.40% | -0.22% | |
| EUR | 0.26% | 0.01% | 0.07% | 0.14% | -0.04% | -0.14% | 0.04% | |
| GBP | 0.24% | -0.01% | 0.06% | 0.13% | -0.05% | -0.15% | 0.02% | |
| JPY | 0.19% | -0.07% | -0.06% | 0.05% | -0.14% | -0.27% | -0.05% | |
| BOOR | 0.12% | -0.14% | -0.13% | -0.05% | -0.17% | -0.29% | -0.11% | |
| AUD | 0.30% | 0.04% | 0.05% | 0.14% | 0.17% | -0.11% | 0.07% | |
| NZD | 0.40% | 0.14% | 0.15% | 0.27% | 0.29% | 0.11% | 0.17% | |
| CHF | 0.22% | -0.04% | -0.02% | 0.05% | 0.11% | -0.07% | -0.17% |
The heat map shows the percentage changes of the major currencies relative to each other. The base currency is selected from the left column and the quote currency from the top row. For example, if you select the US dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
