New Zealand Dollar rallies as Treasury buyback drags US yields

The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) rallies against the US Dollar (USD), pushing north of the 0.5930 mark. The move is driven by broad weakness in the Greenback rather than anything out of New Zealand.

The trigger was the United States (US) Treasury Department. It said it will at least double its buyback operations for longer-dated coupon securities in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting each operation from $2 billion to at least $4 billion between September 9 and November 4. The plan aims to support liquidity and cap the recent climb in long-end yields. It worked quickly, with the US 10-year yield falling back toward 4.65% after trading above 4.70% earlier in the day.

The July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, released on Wednesday, did little to change the picture. The record showed policymakers still regard inflation as elevated and confirmed three officials voted for a hike, but traders treated it as backward-looking given the softer inflation and weak jobs data since the meeting. A September hold remains the base case, keeping the Dollar on the back foot.

Attention now turns to New Zealand's July trade balance on Thursday, though the bigger driver for NZD/USD remains the US side, with the path of yields and the Dollar setting the tone into the end of the week.

Short-term technical analysis:

On the 4-hour chart, NZD/USD trades at 0.5932. The pair retains a constructive near-term bias as it holds above both the 20-period Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 0.5896 and the 100-period SMA at 0.5868, suggesting underlying demand on dips. Momentum is firm, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovering near 68, hinting at strong bullish pressure without yet crossing into extreme overbought territory.

On the topside, immediate resistance is seen at 0.5935, followed by a nearby cap at 0.5939; a sustained break above this cluster would open the way toward 0.5965. On the downside, initial support emerges at 0.5929, ahead of a secondary floor at 0.5922, with the 20-period SMA at 0.5896 and the 100-period SMA at 0.5868 reinforcing a broader bullish structure on any deeper pullback.