NZD/USD consolidates daily losses near 0.73 handle

The NZD/USD pair, which was able to record its best daily percentage rise in nearly a month on Wednesday, is struggling to extend its gains and remains in a tight range near the 0.73 handle. As of writing, the pair was trading at 0.7305, losing 0.12% on the day.

The pair refreshed its daily low at 0.7280 in the European session as the greenback recovered its sharp losses from yesterday with the US Dollar Index touching the 94 level. However, rumors of Gary Cohn, the director of the White House's National Economic Council, resigning amid President Donald Trump's comments on the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, triggered a USD sell-off and forced the index to erase the majority of its gains. Although White House quickly denied the rumors, the index couldn't gather momentum and is now at 93.55, up 0.15%.

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On the other hand, the sharp upsurge witnessed in the AUD/USD pair, which provided an additional boost to the positively-correlated kiwi yesterday, seems to have lost momentum on Thursday. In fact, the AUD/USD pair is losing 0.1% on the day as it moves sideways a little above the 0.79 mark.

Investors will look for fresh catalysts in the speeches from Dallas Fed President Kaplan and Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari later in the session. 

Technical outlook

With a daily close above the 0.73 mark, the pair could target 0.7345 (50-DMA), 0.7415 (Aug. 7 high) and 0.7500 (psychological level). On the downside, supports could be seen at 0.7220 (Aug. 16 low), 0.7185 (100-DMA) and 0.7130 (200-DMA). The RSI on the H4 chart is moving sideways near the 50 mark, supporting the view of a near-term neutral outlook.

• NZD/USD: Neutral outlook for the week ahead - Westpac