NZD/USD inching closer to 0.72 mark, GDT index and Fedspeak eyed

The NZD/USD pair finally broke out of its consolidative range and ticked above the 100-day SMA hurdle, now eyeing to reclaim the 0.7200 handle.

The pair built on its modest recovery move from the very important 200-day SMA support and traded with a mild positive bias amid persistent US Dollar selling bias. 

The latest news headlines coming out of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva seems to have triggered a fresh wave of greenback selling pressure and has been one of the key factors behind the pair's uptick in the past hour or so.

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Mounting tensions between the US and N. Korea has been dampening investors' risk appetite and driving flows towards traditional safe-haven assets. Hence, the ongoing slide in the US Treasury bond yields did little to lend any support to the buck but rather was seen benefitting higher-yielding currencies - like the Kiwi.

Today's key focus would be on the release of NZ GDT Price Index. From the US, the release of US factory orders data along with speeches from key FOMC members - Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, would also be looked upon for some impetus. 

   •  US: Fed speak in focus - TDS

Technical levels to watch

On a sustained momentum beyond the 0.7200 handle, a bout of short-covering could lift the pair towards 0.7250-55 resistance area en-route 0.7280 hurdle.

Meanwhile, on the downside, 0.7180-70 area now seems to act as immediate support, which if broken could drag the pair back towards 0.7155 horizontal support ahead of 200-DMA support near the 0.7130 region.