NZD/USD stays in red near 0.6450, focus remains on US-China trade war
- US-China trade dispute continues to weigh on antipodeans.
- US Dollar Index steadies near 97.50 handle on Monday.
- There won't be any macroeconomic data releases from US.
After posting its lowest weekly close since September 2018 at 0.6467, the NZD/USD pair struggled to make a meaningful recovery on Monday and was last seen trading at 0.6455, losing 0.23% on a daily basis.
Dismal mood weighs on Kiwi
The lack of positive developments surrounding the US-China trade conflict continues to keep investors away from antipodeans. Additionally, China's central bank earlier today announced that it kept the USD/CNY exchange rate above 7 for the third straight session, reviving concerns over a currency war as the Trump administration labels this move as "currency manipulation."
Moreover, escalation in Hong Kong protests today also caused markets to turn risk-averse and made it difficult for the risk-sensitive pair to gain traction.
On the other hand, the US Treasury bond yields turned south on these developments, not allowing the US Dollar Index (DXY) to start erasing last week's losses. At the moment, the DXY is moving sideways near 97.50.
There won't be any macroeconomic data releases from the US in the remainder of the day and participants will be keeping a close eye on developments surrounding the US-China trade dispute. The only data from New Zealand on Tuesday will be the Food Price Index, which is expected to rise by 0.4% on a monthly basis in July following June's decline of 0.7%.
Technical levels to watch for