NZD/USD climbs again, testing 0.7400 with NFP on the horizon

• NZD continues to win over the USD.
• NFP data at 13:30 GMT could help or hinder.

NZD/USD continues to find reasons to stay up, trading around 0.7400 and already challenging yesterday's high of 0.7403 heading into Asia markets. Kiwi has had a stellar run lately, gaining over 9% on the Greenback since mid-November as the US DOllar suffers at the hands of its global counterparties.

New Zealand's currency may be gaining against its two largest market-mates, the USD and the AUD, but this may have less to do with NZ itself, and more to do with sluggish economic activity from inside Australia and a market-wide lack of interest in buying up the US Dollar. Hitting the nail on the head, ANZ analysts noted that  the Kiwi's march up the charts may be fully extrinsic, the Kiwi scooping up the win simply because the USD and AUD are losing. Economic data from NZ hasn't been particularly stelar, with evidence of slack in the NZ labour market, as upticks in demand for workers has failed to result in increases in real wages.

With the New Zealand economy staunchly within 'okay, but not great' territory, the central bank of the tiny two-island nation is unlikely to begin raising rates anytime soon. Despite gaining a more hopeful tone to its rhetoric last year, economic growth has been spotty, and data from the last three months following the last RBNZ statement has been mixed. With no clear direction in the data, the RBNZ can be expected to stand pat for now, and wait for more solid signals of improvement. No love lost for the NZD despite all of this, as it continues to overheat somply by 'losing the least'.

However, US Non-Farm Payrolls drop at 13:30 GMT, and is sure to spice up markets one way or another; details on Nomura's NFP preview can be found here.

NZD/USD Technical Levels

Price on H4 charts appears to have found support off the 34 EMA,  around 0.7348, and is challenging the recent swing highs of 0.7416, with support priced in 0.7312.

Today's pivot points:
R2: 0.7447
R1: 0.7420
PP: 0.7377
S1: 0.7351
S2: 0.7307