The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) inched lower against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, decreasing the price of NZDUSD to less than 0.7200, following the release of some key economic news. The technical bias however remains bullish because of a higher high in the ongoing upside rally.

Technical Analysis

As of this writing, the pair is being traded around 0.7197. A support can be noted around 0.7186, a short term horizontal support ahead of 0.7171, the 50% fib level and then 0.6969, the horizontal support area.

On the upside, a hurdle can be noted near 0.7300-0.7309, the confluence of psychological number as well as short term horizontal resistance as demonstrated in the given above daily chart. A break and daily closing above the 0.7309 resistance area shall incite renewed buying interest, validating an upside rally towards the 0.7403 resistance zone. The technical bias shall remain bullish as long as the 0.6857 support area is intact.

New Zealand Retail Sales

New Zealand retail sales gained in the fourth quarter, led again by motor vehicle and parts retailing, with eleven of the 15 industries monitored seeing higher sales volumes. The volume of retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.8 per cent in the three months ended December 31, from a 0.9 per cent rise in the September quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. The total value of retail sales, seasonally adjusted, rose 1.1 per cent in the quarter to $21.08 billion.

Trade Idea

Considering the overall technical and fundamental outlook, selling the pair around current levels appears to be a good strategy in short to medium term.