Ella 
NZD/USD ended two consecutive losses on Thursday and rebounded to around 0.6240 in the Asian market. The New Zealand dollar gained despite leading housing market indicators showing a decline in new building approvals in New Zealand.
New Zealand’s seasonally adjusted building permits fell by 10.6% month-on-month in November 2023, a 15-month low. The previous value increased by 8.5%. New permits fell 24% during the month. The annualized number of new dwelling consents continues to fall compared with its all-time peak of 51,015 in the year to May 2022.
The U.S. dollar index is in a downward trend, driven by weaker U.S. Treasury yields. The U.S. dollar index fell to around 102.30, and the 2-year and 10-year Treasury bond yields are currently 4.36% and 4.02% respectively.
Additionally, risk appetite among traders is increasing as they speculate on the possibility of five rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in 2024. In addition, New York Fed President John Williams noted on Wednesday that financial markets continue to be highly responsive to new data. Williams affirmed the Fed’s current stance and suggested that now is an appropriate time to discuss the future path of interest rates.
The U.S. consumer price index for December will be released tonight. This economic indicator will have a huge impact on assessing inflationary pressures and have a significant impact on market expectations for the Fed’s monetary policy stance.
