NZD/USD close to session lows

New Zealand dollar traded at levels close to session lows against its US counterpart on Wednesday, as investors continued their support of the greenback in expectation of series of crucial economic data, scheduled for release later in the day.

NZD/USD hit a session low at 0.7720 at 6:27 GMT. Currently the cross was trading at 0.7730. Support was expected at July 1st low, 0.7703, while resistance was likely to be met at June 28th high, 0.7778.

On Tuesday official report said, that US factory orders climbed by 2.1% in May to 485 billion USD on a monthly basis, above the projected 2.0%, and further improving in comparison with April, when orders showed 1.3% gains. In addition, Real estate data provider CoreLogic said, that U.S. home prices surged 12.2% in May. Of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas, home prices rose in all three. Prices were higher in 48 of 50 states.

Additionally, a government report showed that China’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers index slowed down to 53.9 in June from 54.3 in May. This gave a selling impulse on the kiwi dollar, as China is New Zealands second largest trading partner. In the mean time, Australian dollar lowered against the greenback, following weaker than projected retail sales in Australia and the pessimistic tone of Reserve Bank of Australia Governor, Stevens, who took a statement earlier today. He said that the central bank could reduce the base interest rate at its next meeting in August in order to support economy, because mining industry activity in the country slowed down. These news also influenced the New Zealand dollar.

Later today market players will be focusing on the ADP Employment report from the United States, which tracks hiring process in the US private sector. This indicator is usually taken as a signal about what the situation with the US non-farm payrolls would be, as the correspondent report is expected this Friday. Additionally, investors will be paying attention to US trade balance and initial jobless claims data, as well as the ISM index of activity in the US service sector. Positive results would quite certainly bolster demand for the US dollar.

Meanwhile, AUD/NZD cross moved up by 0.03% to 1.1807, following the Australian Bureau of Statistics data, which showed Australian retail sales increased by 0.1% in May on a monthly basis, as sales dropped by 0.1% a month ago. Preliminary estimates stated a 0.3% increase.