NZD/USD remains well offered below 0.7000 handle

Following two weeks of sharp slide, the NZD/USD pair has struggled to move back above 0.7000 psychological mark and remained capped below 50-day SMA to currently trade around 0.6980 region. 

The pair remains well offered and even a tepid bounce is being sold into on speculations of further monetary easing by RBNZ at its meeting on August 11. Moreover, every incoming US economic data is contributing towards increasing prospects of an imminent Fed rate hike during the later part of 2016 and is restricting any risk-on recovery for the pair. 

An empty economic docket on Monday is unlikely to provide any respite for the pair, while traders now look forward to Tuesday's release of trade balance data from New-Zealand ahead of this week's key event risk, FOMC monetary policy statement on Wednesday. 

From technical perspective, sustained weakness below 50-day SMA and failure to register any meaningful recovery from multi-week lows, point to continuation of the pair's near-term downward trajectory.

Technical levels to watch

On the immediate downside, weakness below multi-week lows support near 0.6950 is likely to get extended immediately towards 100-day SMA support near 0.6920 region, below which the pair seems to continue drifting lower towards testing its next major support at 200-day SMA near 0.6775 region with intermediate support near 0.6820 level.

Conversely, a sustained recovery back above 50-day SMA near 0.7000-0.7010 region has the potential to boost the pair immediately towards 0.7060 resistance, which if conquered seems to further assist the pair beyond 0.7100 handle towards its next major resistance near 0.7150 region.