NZD/USD struggling near 3-month lows, NFP holds the key

The NZD/USD pair struggled to build on overnight modest rebound from the very important 200-day SMA and ran through some fresh offers just ahead of the 0.7200 handle.

The pair extended this week's rejection slide from the 0.7300 neighborhood and trade with a negative bias for the fourth consecutive session amid some renewed US Dollar buying interest. 

Even today's better-than-expected Chinese Caixin manufacturing PMI report, which tends to benefit commodity-linked currencies, did little to lend any support, while some renewed USD buying interest acting as an exclusive driver of the pair's slide back closer to near three-month lows touched in the previous session.

Currently hovering around the 0.7160-55 region, investors now look forward to the very important release of US monthly jobs data, popularly known as NFP, which could influence the Fed's near-term monetary policy outlook and eventually act as a big catalyst determining the next leg of directional move for higher-yielding currencies - like the Kiwi.

   •  US NFP: Expect another strong reading of 205k for August - Nomura

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support remains near the 0.7130 region, below which the pair is likely to accelerate the slide towards the 0.7100 handle ahead of its next support near the 0.7060-55 region.

On the flip side, any recovery attempts might continue to be capped near 0.7200 mark, which if conquered might trigger a short-covering rally towards 0.7215-20 hurdle.