Ella 
In early Asian trading on Friday, NZD/USD rose slightly below 0.6150. A weaker U.S. dollar and lower bond yields provided some support to the pair. Investors await fresh impetus from Friday’s much-anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls data. Potential market volatility tonight. The pair is currently trading at 0.6142, up 0.04% on the day.
On Thursday, the U.S. ISM manufacturing index rose to 49.1 in January from the previous value of 47.1, the highest level since October 2022. Better than market expectations of 47.0. The new orders index rose to expansion territory at 52.5, the output index rose to 50.4, and the price index climbed to 52.9.
After the Fed’s interest rate meeting on Wednesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said it was unlikely there would be enough evidence to cut interest rates in March. Friday’s non-farm payrolls report will be closely watched. The U.S. nonfarm population is expected to increase by 180,000 in January, compared with an increase of 216,000 in the previous month. The unemployment rate is expected to rise slightly to 3.8%, and average hourly earnings are expected to increase by 0.3% month-on-month.
The latest data released by Statistics New Zealand on Friday showed that the country’s construction permit growth improved to 3.7% month-on-month in December, compared with a 10.6% decrease in the previous value. At the same time, the ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index recorded 93.6 in December, compared with the previous value of 93.1. Investors will take cues from New Zealand’s job market data next week, which could determine the outlook for the official cash rate (OCR).
