Solid News
New Zealand Q4 Retail Sales Fell by 4.0%
2/27/2023 12:12 PMAgainst the actively strengthening of the US dollar, the NZD/USD pair continues its poor dynamics, trading at 0.6143.
The state of the New Zealand economy remains unstable, which is confirmed by the morning's retail sales report: Q4 2022 indicator fell by 4.0% compared to the previous period, and sales of equipment and building materials, which amounted to –15.0%, were the leaders in the decline. The auto parts segment also showed a significant weakening, losing 10.0%. Thus, seasonally adjusted retail sales corrected by –0.6% after rising by 0.4%, which ultimately led to a drop in the core index by 1.3% after rising by 0.5% earlier, although analysts had expected positive dynamics by 0.3%, which led to a serious decline of the New Zealand dollar.
The US dollar continued to strengthen, starting trading this week at 105.200 in the USD Index. The report on new home sales in the United States in January showed an increase of 670.0K after an increase of 625.0K in December, which was the most significant increase in the indicator since September 2022 and supported the national currency, and the consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan in February amounted to 67.0 points compared to 64.9 points earlier.
The trading instrument is declining, leaving the limits of the local sideways channel of 0.6220–0.6500.
Technical indicators strengthen the sell signal: fast EMAs on the Alligator indicator move away from the signal line, and the AO histogram forms downward bars in the sell zone.
Resistance levels: 0.6220, 0.6360. | Support levels: 0.6100, 0.5950.