NZDUSD Exchange Rate

The U.S. dollar appreciated against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday, as weekly jobless claims remained flat last week, indicating continued strength in the labor market.

A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed a sharp pullback by existing home sales in the U.S. in the month March. NAR said existing home sales plunged by 4.3 percent to an annual rate of 4.19 million in March after surging by 9.5 percent to a rate of 4.38 million in February. Economists had expected existing home sales to slump to a rate of 4.20 million.

The Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected pullback by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of March. The report said the leading economic index fell by 0.3 percent in March after rising by 0.2 percent in February. The modest advance in February marked the first increase by the leading index in two years.

A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed a sharp pullback by existing home sales in the U.S. in the month March.

The market's attention has shifted from Middle East tensions to remarks made by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Powell's recent speech signals that the U.S. central bank may opt to maintain interest rates at elevated levels for an extended period, given the backdrop of robust economic indicators and surprisingly high inflation readings.

The New Zealand dollar has plummeted to a five-month low, with the NZD/USD pair touching the 0.5890 mark. This decline was triggered by the release of robust American retail sales data, which raised concerns that the Federal Reserve might delay interest rate cuts expected in 2024.

The Dollar Index (DXY) soared to finish above 106.0 (104.95) as geopolitical risks rose amidst hawkish Fed bets. News that Iran fired a huge salvo of missiles and drones toward Israel boosted the Greenback against its Rivals.

Stronger than expected Inflation data in the US, which accelerated to 3.5% for the second month running, lifted the Dollar Index to 105.23, a 5-month high.