NZD/USD moves away from over two-week high, slides back below 0.6000 mark

• The NZD / USD is struggling to capitalize on a modest intraday increase up to a two -week summit.
• Mixed NZ employment data and a modest increase in the USD eclipses commercial optimism.
• Merchants are now turning to FOMC's crucial decision before placing new directional bets.

The NZD / USD pair withdraws following an Asian session towards the 0.6020-0.6025 area, or more than two weeks higher, and for the moment, seems to have broken a three-day victories sequence. The cash prices retreat below the psychological brand of 0.6000, reaching a new daily lower during the last hour in the middle of a combination of negative factors.

The feeling of global risk obtains a strong boost after the announcement of American-Chinese trade negotiations in Switzerland this week. Adding to this, slightly better statistics on New Zealand labor market, showing that the unemployment rate remained stable at 5.1% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the forecasts for another small increase, allowed a modest increase in the NZD / USD pair.

Additional details have revealed that the number of people employed increased by 0.1% after a drop of 0.2% in the previous quarter. The initial reaction of the market, however, turns out to be short-lived such as the low increase in employment and a continuous slowdown in wage growth maintain the open door to new interest rate reductions by the New Zealand reserve bank (RBNZ), potentially 2.75% by the end of the year.

The expectations have been reaffirmed by the latest RBNZ financial stability report, which highlighted the concerns that commercial turmoil has increased the risk of decrease in domestic economic growth. Apart from this, a modest increase in the US dollar (USD) exerts some downward pressure on the NZD / USD pair. USD Bulls, however, could choose to wait for the result of a two -day FOMC meeting.

The Federal Reserve (FED) should announce its decision later this Wednesday, although the accent put on the market focuses on the policy statement that accompanies it. Apart from that, the remarks of the president of the Fed, Jerome Powell, at the press conference after the meeting, will be examined for clues on the rate trajectory. This, in turn, will influence the USD demand and provide a new momentum at the NZD / USD pair.