Kiwi Benefits From Risk Relief

Better risk appetite drove NZD/USD higher Tuesday, with the greenback lagging all of its G10 peers save the yen. The pair met firm resistance at $0.6240 and stayed just shy of that level.

• Cross-asset signals were mixed, even as broader risk-on impetus prevailed. Equity benchmarks in Europe and the U.S. turned bid but Bloomberg Commodity Index slipped.
• On that last note, the GDT Price Index fell 5.0% from the previous auction, with whole milk powder shedding 5.1%. Headline price index fell in eight of the last nine auctions.
• The rate now trades flat at $0.6226. From a technical viewpoint, bulls look for a rally above Jul 4 high/38.2% retracement of the Jun - Jul sell-off at $0.6252/58. Next up is the 50-DMA/50% Fibo retracement at $0.6316/19. Bears need a fall under Jul 14 low of $0.6061 to confirm the return of downside momentum.
• An address from RBA Gov Lowe takes focus today, before the release of domestic data (trade balance, credit card spending) on Thursday.