Awaiting Labour Market Report

NZD/USD eked out some gains Tuesday for the first time in eight days. The impact of a hawkish monetary policy decision delivered by the RBA spilled over across the Tasman, lending support to the kiwi dollar. While NZD/USD erased those gains into the London morning, it returned into positive territory by the end of play, with participants preparing for today's rate decision from U.S. FOMC.

• The rate last deals at $0.6441, up 5 pips on the day. Bears keep an eye on the $0.6385-77 price congestion from Jun 2020, while bulls look to a rebound above Jan 28 low of $0.6530.
• The RBNZ warned in its biannual Financial Stability Report that a sharp correction in the housing market remains a "plausible outcome that would have broad economic implications". Governor Orr will hold a press conference to discuss the report at the top of the hour, before RBNZ policymakers testify to parliament on Thursday.
• CoreLogic House Price Index (HPI) for the month of April showed that "the NZ property market has weakened further as the power shifts to buyers". The authors of the survey noted that "the future of the labour market, both nationwide and locally, will be important in helping to determine ‘where to next’ for each of the markets."
• StatsNZ will publish Q1 jobs data shortly, with headline unemployment rate expected to stay unchanged at 3.2%. The report will be closely scrutinised ahead of the RBNZ's May 25 monetary policy meeting.