NZD/USD gathers strength above 0.5950, US PCE data looms

• NZD/USD gains ground to around 0.5980 in Thursday's Asian session. 
• ANZ Business Confidence rose to 65.7 in October vs. 60.9 prior. 
• Investors await the US PCE inflation data on Thursday. 

The NZD/USD pair recovers some lost ground to near 0.5980 on Thursday during the Asian trading hours. The upbeat New Zealand business confidence and Chinese Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data underpin the China-proxy New Zealand Dollar (NZD). 

New Zealand business confidence jumped further in October, rising to 65.7 from 60.9 in September, according to a survey by the ANZ bank. Despite the improvement in confidence, the markets expect the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to cut its Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 75 basis points (bps) at a policy meeting next month. This, in turn, might drag the Kiwi lower against the Greenback. 

The latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday that China's Manufacturing PMI jumped to 50.1 in October, up from 49.8 in September. This figure came in better than the expectation of 50.0. Meanwhile, the NBS Non-Manufacturing PMI improved to 50.2 in October versus 50.0 prior, below the consensus of 50.4. 

On the USD's front, the economic readings have pointed to a resilient jobs market and economy, prompting traders to pare back their bets on the Federal Reserve's (Fed) rate cuts. Investors will closely monitor the release of US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) - Price Index data on Thursday. On Friday, the employment data will be in the spotlight. 

"With the focus more on employment data, a strong non-farm payroll print would provide Fed ammunition for a December pause," said Uto Shinohara, senior investment strategist at Mesirow Currency Management in Chicago.