Ella 
In early Asian trading on Thursday, the New Zealand dollar/US dollar strengthened and fluctuated below the 0.6100 mark. NZD/USD has been given some support by a drop in the greenback after the Federal Reserve (FED) kept interest rates on hold and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell issued a dovish message. NZD/USD is currently trading around 0.6090, with an intraday increase of 0.15%.
The latest data released by Statistics New Zealand on Thursday showed that New Zealand’s fourth-quarter GDP quarterly rate recorded -0.1%, compared with the previous value of -0.3%. New Zealand’s fourth-quarter GDP recorded an annual rate of -0.3%, compared with -0.6% in the previous quarter. Both data came in below market expectations, which could halt the upside for NZD/USD.
On the other hand, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at 5.25-5.50% at its March meeting on Wednesday, and the median dot plot for 2024 was unchanged from the 75 basis point rate cut expected in the December forecast. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference that strong labor market data would not prevent the central bank from cutting interest rates. Powell stressed that the central bank will wait for more data to confirm that inflation is continuing to fall toward its 2% target.
In addition, Fed Powell reiterated that policymakers still intend to cut interest rates before the end of this year given continued economic growth. Powell’s dovish tone has put some selling pressure on the US dollar and created a tailwind for NZD/USD.
