Forex - NZD/USD weekly outlook: November 17 - 21

Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar recouped earlier losses against its U.S. counterpart on Friday to end at a two-week high as a round of profit-taking sent the greenback sliding late in the session.

NZD/USD hit a daily low of 0.7824 on Friday, before turning higher to subsequently consolidate at 0.7906 by close of trade on Friday, up 0.32% for the day and 1.92% higher for the week.

The pair is likely to find support at 0.7824, Friday's low, and resistance at 0.7976, the high from October 29.

The U.S. dollar was boosted after the Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales rose 0.3% in October, ahead of forecasts for a 0.2% increase.

The greenback trimmed gains after separate data showed that U.S. inflation expectations fell in an otherwise upbeat report on consumer confidence for this month.

The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose to a seven year high of 89.4, better than forecasts of 87.5 and up from October’s reading of 86.9.

However, the report also showed that consumers expected annual inflation of 2.6% this year, down from expectations for inflation of 2.9% in October.

The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.25% to 87.61 in late trade, not far from the more than four-year highs of 88.36 hit earlier in the session.

The kiwi shrugged off comments made by Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler earlier in the week, saying that "the exchange rate is unjustified and unsustainable".

"Further increases in short-term interest rates may be required in coming years," Wheeler added.

The comments followed the release of the RBNZ's biannual Financial Stability Report, in which the central bank said it won't relax mortgage lending restrictions for now as surging immigration and low borrowing costs could re-ignite the housing market.

In the week ahead, investors will be focusing on Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s October meeting and Thursday’s report on the U.S. consumer price index.

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 Friday, as there are no relevant events on this day.

Monday, November 17

The U.S. is to release a report on manufacturing activity in the New York region, as well as data on industrial production.

Tuesday, November 18

The U.S. is to release data on producer price inflation.

Wednesday, November 19

The U.S. is to release data on building permits and housing starts.

Later Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is to publish the minutes of its October meeting.

Thursday, November 20

The U.S. is to release data on initial jobless claims, consumer prices, existing homes sales and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.