Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar lost more than 1% against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, as upbeat U.S. employment data added to expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interests sooner and faster than previously expected.
NZD/USD hit 0.7707 on Monday, the pair’s lowest since July 8, 2013, before subsequently consolidating at 0.7763 by close of trade on Friday, down 1.73% for the day and 1.76% lower for the week.
The pair is likely to find support at 0.7707, the low from September 29, and resistance at 0.7859, the high from October 1.
In a report, the Department of Labor said that the U.S. economy added 248,000 jobs in September, well ahead of forecast for jobs growth of 215,000. The unemployment rate ticked down from 6.0% to 5.9%, the lowest level since July 2008.
The stronger than expected data added to the view that the strengthening economic recovery may prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than markets are expecting.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 1.23% to 86.79 in late trade, a high last seen in June 2010, capping its twelfth consecutive weekly gain. The twelve-week rally is the longest since the index was created in 1971.
Meanwhile, in New Zealand, data released earlier in the week showed that the ANZ business confidence index fell to a more than two-year low of 13.4 in September, from a reading of 24.4 the previous month.
The weak data fuelled concerns over the outlook for economic growth in the third quarter.
The New Zealand dollar had come under broad selling pressure last week after Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler signaled that he is prepared to sell the nation's currency to weaken it.
Data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission released Friday showed that speculators decreased their bullish bets on the New Zealand dollar in the week ending September 30.
Net longs totaled just 64 contracts, down sharply from net longs of 1,841 in the preceding week.
In the coming week, investors will be looking ahead to Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting minutes for further indications on the future possible direction of U.S. monetary policy.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets. The guide skips Monday as there are no relevant events on this day.
Tuesday, October 7
New Zealand is to release private sector data on business confidence.
Wednesday, October 8
In the U.S., the Federal Reserve is to publish the minutes of its latest policy setting meeting.
Thursday, October 9
The U.S. is to publish its weekly government report on initial jobless claims.
Friday, October 10
The U.S. is to round up the week with data on import prices.