NZD/USD trades in tight range near 0.5950 ahead of US data

• US Dollar Index rebounds above 99 ahead of American session.
• Consumer confidence deteriorates in March in New Zealand.
• Coming up: PCE Price Index and UoM Consumer Confidence data from US.

The NZD/USD pair rose to its highest level in 10 days at 0.6016 but struggled to preserve its bullish momentum and erased its daily gains. As of writing, the pair was virtually unchanged on the day at 0.5960.

Boosted by the broad-based USD weakness, the pair closed the first four days of the week in the positive territory. FOMC Chairman Powell reiterated that they are committed to using all the tools to safeguard the economy and noted that they have policy room for more action to weigh on the greenback.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) slumped 98.84 during the early trading hours on Friday before staging a rebound ahead of the American session. At the moment, the DXY is down 0.16% on the day at 99.30.

Eyes on US data 

Meanwhile, the sour market sentiment as reflected by heavy losses witnessed in major European equity indexes makes it difficult for the risk-sensitive NZD to find demand. Meanwhile, the ANZ Consumer Confidence Index in New Zealand slumped to 106.3 in March from 122.1 in February to further weigh on the kiwi.

In the second half of the day, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis will publish the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index data. More importantly, investors will be paying close attention to the Universit of Michigan's Consumer Confidence Survey.

Technical levels to watch for