NZD Weighed Down by Fed Hike Bets and Iran Tensions

The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) has been underperforming against its US counterpart due to increased bets of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike and escalating tensions between the US and Iran.

As reported in the latest market analysis, the NZD/USD pair has been trading near the 0.5870 region, down around 0.15% for the day. This development comes after the release of the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report, which indicated a better-than-expected employment growth.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (RBNZ) dovish tilt in its policy projections has also contributed to the NZD's underperformance. While the RBNZ raised its official cash rate for the second consecutive meeting last week, it stressed that 'this decision reduces the risk that the OCR needs to increase by more later,' indicating a cautious approach.

The 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at 0.5855 and the 38.2% level at 0.5848 have provided some support for the NZD/USD pair, but immediate resistance appears at the 23.6% Fibo. retracement at 0.5901.