NZD/USD slumps after Fed decision

NZD/USD slumped in tandem with USD strength across the board, following the widely expected Fed’s decision to raise rates by a quarter point.

Federal Reserve decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 0.5-0.75%. Meanwhile, the dot plot showed most members expect three hikes throughout 2017 versus two hikes seen in September’s meeting.

Attention now turns to Fed’s Chair Janet Yellen, who will be speaking in a press conference at 19:30 GMT.

NZD/USD fell through the 0.72 mark and dropped to a low of 0.7149, turning negative intraday. The pair was last trading at 0.7153, recording a 0.65% daily loss.

NZD/USD key levels

Next supports for NZD/USD are seen at 0.7144 (50-day SMA), 0.7114 (Dec 12 low) and 0.7098 (20-day SMA). On the other hand, resistances line up at 0.7200 (psychological level/100-day SMA), 0.7238 (Dec 14 high) and 0.7300/05 (psychological level/Nov 10 high).