NZD/USD recovers half of RBNZ policy-related losses, outlook remains weak

The NZD/USD pair claws back half of its early losses and rebounds to near 0.5775 during the late European trading session on Wednesday. Still, the Kiwi pair is down 0.4%.

The pair faced selling pressure after the monetary policy announcement by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) in which it surprisingly reduced its Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 50 basis points (bps) to 2.5%. Economists also anticipated an interest rate cut from the RBNZ, but at a regular pace of 25 bps.

RBNZ members said in the monetary policy statement that the door of further monetary policy easing remains open, citing downside risks to inflation and economic activity.

Higher-than-expected interest rate cuts by the RBNZ had boded poorly for the New Zealand Dollar (NZD).

Meanwhile, sheer strength in the US Dollar (USD) is also weighing on the Kiwi pair. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, revisits the two-month high near 99.00.

The US Dollar performs strongly as its safe-haven demand has increased amid political developments in Japan and France.

Going forward, ongoing United States (US) government shutdown is expected to limit the US Dollar’s upside. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump threatened that the White House would cut spending programs as the government enters its second week of shutdown. Trump also stated that he will provide details about lay-offs in federal agencies in next four or five days.