SYDNEY: The Australian dollar stalled near six-month highs on Tuesday as domestic data pointed to softness in consumption and employment, while the New Zealand dollar awaited an update on monetary policy due later in the week.
The Aussie held at $0.6735, after stretching as far as $0.6762 on Monday.
The technical bias is upward as long as support at $0.6714 holds, with the next major target being a top from last December at $0.6849.
“The push above recent range resistance has opened potential for moves into the $0.6820-70 area, but will be dependent upon how the potential of US disinflation unfolds this week,” said Tim Riddell, a macro strategist at Westpac.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak later in the day, while US consumer price figures will be out on Thursday and a benign outcome would add to the case for a September easing.
Market pricing in Australia still sees a risk of a rate hike, though the probability of a move in August has come in to 22%, from 40% a couple of weeks ago.
Surveys out on Tuesday showed high rates were working to restrain demand with business conditions worsening in June and consumer confidence taking a hit in July.
The kiwi dollar was back at $0.6120, having briefly spiked as high as $0.6171 overnight before running into offers.
Australian dollar holds gains as yields attract; kiwi edgy into RBNZ meet
That left it in the middle of the recent $0.6040/6223 range ahead of a meeting of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) on Wednesday.
Investors are confident it will hold rates at 5.5%, but are less certain about whether a hike will be discussed and how hawkish it stays on the outlook.
With the flow of recent data on the weak side, markets are wagering the next move will be down and have priced in a 67% chance of a cut as early as October.
“This meeting is seen by markets participants as a non-event, though it will most likely be the last non-live meeting for a while,” said Ross Weston, head of balance sheet Treasury at Kiwibank.
“The RBNZ are likely to acknowledge the weaker data, but in their eyes they need lower inflation prints, which will only likely be seen in 3Q Inflation data released in October.”
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