NZD/USD gains traction above 0.6100 ahead of US PMI data

• NZD/USD trades in positive territory near 0.6108 in Thursday’s Asian session. 
• The RBNZ’s hawkish hold has boosted the Kiwi. 
• Fed minutes offered the cautious tine, indicating worries over the lack of progress on inflation.

The NZD/USD pair gains momentum around 0.6108 during the Asian trading hours on Thursday. The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) edges higher as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept interest rates steady and signaled the potential delay in interest rate cuts due to headwinds from sticky inflation. 

The RBNZ decided to keep the policy rate steady at 5.50% for the seventh meeting in a row at its May meeting on Wednesday. The central bank noted in the statement that “the welcome decline in inflation in part reflects lower inflation for goods and services imported into New Zealand. However, service inflation is receding slowly, and expected policy interest rate cuts continue to be delayed.” The RBNZ added that it expects inflation to ease within its target range by the end of 2024. The hawkish hold of the New Zealand central bank provides some support to the Kiwi and creates a tailwind for the NZD/USD pair. 

On the USD’s front, the Federal Reserve (Fed) released the minutes of the April 30-May 1 policy meeting on Wednesday, indicating that inflation in recent months has been a lack of further progress toward the Fed’s 2 percent objective.” Investors continue to adjust their expectations for rate cuts this year, with nearly 60% odds of the first reduction in September, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The attention will shift to the advanced reading of the US Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for May. In the case of a stronger reading, this might lift the Greenback and cap the pair’s upside in the near term.