Kiwi Gets Reprieve As Risk Recovers

NZD/USD blipped higher Thursday as broader risk appetite recovered, exerting pressure on the greenback. The rate failed to stage a clean break below its 50-DMA as it printed a fresh weekly low, but bounced off there and finished the day in the green.

• As a recap, PM Ardern delivered a pre-budget speech Thursday. She promised efforts to deepen New Zealand's trade relationship with the U.S. and outlined plans of official delegations' visits to Australia, EU and UK. She warned that NZ may face a temporary vaccine shortage, but inoculated foreign tourists will "possibly" be allowed into the country. On Monday, the gov't will provide more details on plans to revamp its immigration policies.
• BusinessNZ M'fing PMI will be released at the bottom of the hour. Next week's highlights include New Zealand's Services PMI (Monday), quarterly PPI (Wednesday) & Government Budget (Thursday).
• The rate last sits +13 pips at $0.7187, with topside focus falling on May 10/Mar 2 highs of $0.7305/07. On the downside, a fall through the 50-DMA/Thursday's low at $0.7138/35 would open up May 4 low of $0.7116, a key near-term support.