Ella 
On Monday in Asia, the NZD/USD pair hovered near the 0.6100 mark. NZD/USD is trading higher despite strength in the US Dollar Index (DXY). Investors are awaiting the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and this week’s U.S. January non-farm payrolls data for fresh market impetus. As of press time, NZD/USD was trading at 0.6107, up 0.26% throughout the day.
Market players expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to hold interest rates steady at 5.25-5.50% at its January meeting on Wednesday. Traders priced in a 48.2% chance of the Fed cutting interest rates for the first time in March, down from 88% last month.
The latest data released by Statistics New Zealand on Monday showed that New Zealand’s twelve-month trade account (year-on-year) recorded -NZD 13.57 billion in December, compared with -NZD 13.90 billion in the previous month. At the same time, exports in December increased from NZD 5.99 billion in the previous month. The New Zealand dollar fell to NZ$5.94 billion, while imports fell to NZ$6.26 billion from NZ$7.20 billion in the previous month.
