Ella 
NZD/USD is higher for the second consecutive session, trading around 0.6060 during the European session on Friday. New Zealand’s better-than-expected retail sales data pushed NZD/USD higher. The data showed unexpected stability, with retail sales flat at 0.0% in the third quarter of 2023. Market expectations were for a 0.8% decline.
Additionally, retail sales ex-auto beat consensus estimates, rising 1.0% in the reporting period, against expectations of a 1.5% decline. This positive performance provides a tailwind for NZD/USD.
The prospect of a new Chinese stimulus package boosted sentiment. There are reports that the Chinese government has included Country Garden Holdings Ltd. in a list of 50 real estate developers eligible to receive financing. Positive developments in China will have a knock-on effect on currencies sensitive to the Chinese economy, such as the New Zealand dollar.
Investors appear to be betting that the Federal Reserve has ended its policy tightening campaign and is now considering the possibility of cutting interest rates by May 2024. Sentiment that Friday’s U.S. S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data is expected to be lower has cast a negative shadow over the dollar.
U.S. Treasury yields improved during Friday’s Asian trading session in an attempt to move the dollar into positive territory following the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
In addition, the hawkish tone of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes released on Tuesday, coupled with upbeat U.S. labor market and consumer sentiment data on Wednesday, curbed a new round of bear market bets on the dollar. This, in turn, is negative for the NZD/USD pair.
