New Zealand Dollar Climbs On Trade Optimism

The New Zealand dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Thursday amid rising risk appetite, as Asian stock markets advanced following the overnight gains on Wall Street amid easing tensions in Hong Kong and on diminished chances of a no-deal Brexit in the UK.

Investors also digested news that the U.S. and China have agreed to hold another round of trade talks in Washington in early October.

Sentiment lifted up after British Parliament voted to take a no-deal Brexit option off the table and Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam withdrew a controversial extradition bill that had set off three months of protests.

Also in focus are reports on U.S. private sector employment, weekly jobless claims and service sector activity due later in the day.

Data from Statistics New Zealand showed that the total volume of building activity in New Zealand was down a seasonally adjusted 1.5 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2019.

That missed expectations for an increase of 1.3 percent and was down sharply from the 6.2 percent jump in the three months prior.

The kiwi rose to a 9-day high of 0.6379 against the greenback, up from Wednesday's closing value of 0.6360. If the kiwi rises further, 0.66 is likely seen as its next resistance level.

The kiwi strengthened to near a 2-week high of 68.05 against the yen and held steady thereafter. The pair had closed Wednesday's deals at 67.65. The currency is likely to find resistance around the 73.00 level.

The kiwi appreciated to more than a 2-week high of 1.7283 against the euro, compared to yesterday's closing value of 1.7350. The kiwi is poised to find resistance around the 1.70 level.

The kiwi bounced off to 1.0685 against the aussie, from an early 2-day low of 1.0708. On the upside, 1.05 is likely seen as the next resistance level for the kiwi.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia's trade surplus declined in July as exports logged only a marginal growth.

The trade surplus declined to A$7.26 billion in July from June's record A$7.97 billion.

Looking ahead, German construction PMI for August is due in the European session.

At 8:15 am ET, ADP private payrolls data for August is set for release.

In the New York session, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended August 31, factory orders for July and ISM non-manufacturing composite index for August will be released.