NZD/USD: Looks to extend gains above 0.7220 amid softer USD

• NZD/USD is moving higher in the Asian session.
• Weakness in USD prompts constructive bids for the pair.
• Risk-on sentiment lifts the demand for the Kiwi.

Sellers remain in control of the sentiment around the US dollar and push NZD/USD higher in the vicinity of 0.7220 in the Asian session. The pair is poised to extend Wednesday’s gain on the improved risk appetite among investors.

At the time of writing, the NZD/USD pair is at 0.7214, up 0.01% on the day.

NZD/USD keeps the leg higher and northern for yet another session, and is on the course to retest April 30 highs of 0.7250. The selling tone surrounding the greenback appears quite firm with the past few sessions on the back of Tuesday’s comments from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and is further corroborated by softer US economic data.

US Private Payrolls added 742k jobs but fell short of 8k market expectations ahead of the NFP data. Moving on, US Service Activity dropped to 62.7 in April from an all-time high of 63.7 and below the market expectations of 64.3. The market turns muted on the demand for the greenback on the back of not so encouraging data that keeps the momentum going in favor of the NZD/USD pair for the time being.

It is worth noting that S&P 500 futures are trading flat at 4,158 with modest gains.

Investors turn their attention to US Initial Jobless Claims, Unit Labour Costs, and Nonfarm Productivity QoQ data to gauge the market sentiment.

NZD/USD additional levels