- NZD/USD softens to around 0.5900 in Tuesday’s Asian session.
- China’s Caixin Services PMI unexpectedly jumped to 52.6 in July, stronger than expected.
- The US ISM Services PMI for July will be in the spotlight later on Tuesday.
The NZD/USD pair trades in negative territory near 0.5900 during the Asian trading hours on Tuesday. The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) remains weak against the US Dollar (USD) despite the upbeat Chinese economic data. The attention will shift to the US ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which will be published later on Tuesday.
Data released by Caixin on Tuesday showed that China’s Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) unexpectedly climbed to 52.6 in July from 50.6 in June. This figure came in stronger than the expectations of 50.2. However, the upbeat Chinese data fails to boost the China-proxy Kiwi as traders remain focused on the trade negotiations between the USA and China.
US Treasury Secretary Beseent said that an extension of the trade truce between the world’s two leading economies is “likely,” but markets remain cautious ahead of the August 12 deadline. Any signs of escalating trade tensions between the US and China could exert some selling pressure on the NZD, as China is a major trading partner of New Zealand.
On the USD’s front, the weaker-than-expected US July Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), along with the unexpected resignation by Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Adriana Kugler, might weigh on the Greenback and create a tailwind for the pair. Fed funds futures traders ramped up bets on rate cuts after the downbeat US economic data. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are now pricing in nearly an 84% possibility that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points (bps) in the September meeting.
