NZD/USD holds gains above 0.5750 following mixed data from China

• NZD/USD remains stronger following the release of domestic and Chinese data.
• China's Industrial Production rose by 5.4% YoY in November, exceeding market expectations of a 5.3% increase.
• The US Dollar remains subdued as Treasury yields hold thin losses.

NZD/USD breaks its four-day losing streak, trading around 0.5780 during the European hours on Monday. The New Zealand (NZD) remains stronger following the recent data from its largest trading partner, China. However, the upside of the Kiwi Dollar could be restrained due to the increased likelihood of a further aggressive easing approach from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) early in 2025.

Recent reports indicate that China, a key trade partner for New Zealand, saw industrial output perform better than expected. However, this optimism was tempered by significantly lower-than-forecast Retail Sales and a continued decline in house prices.

China's annual Industrial Production rose by 5.4% in November, surpassing the market expectation of a 5.3% increase. In contrast, Retail Sales grew by 3.0% year-on-year in November, falling short of the anticipated 4.6% and the previous reading of 4.8%. 

Domestically, the Business NZ Performance of Services Index climbed to 49.5 in November, up from 46.2 in October, marking its highest level since February. Additionally, the Food Price Index increased by 1.3% year-on-year in November, slightly above the 1.2% rise recorded in October.

The US Dollar (USD) remains subdued amid tepid US Treasury yields ahead of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate decision set for Wednesday. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a 25 basis point rate cut in its final monetary policy meeting of 2024. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are now almost fully pricing in a quarter basis point cut at the Fed's December meeting.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US Dollar against its six major peers, trades near 106.80 with 2-year and 10-year yields on US Treasury bonds standing at 4.23% and 4.38%, respectively, at the time of writing.