NZD/USD pressured to test 0.69 the figure

• NZD/USD bulls are under pressure as the US dollar firms. 
• Bears are taking the lead on the back of a firmly hawkish Fed. 

NZD/USD is under pressure as the US dollar remains firm following a hawkish outcome at the Federal Reserve with Wednesday's release of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes. At the time of writing, NZD/USD is trading at 0.75 the figure that has ranged between a low of 0.7491 and a high of 0.7519. 

''A bout of volatility was seen around 6am when the Fed minutes were released, with the USD and bond yields initially coming off despite clear hawkish overtones (news that 50bps was considered last month, confirmation that 50bp hikes are on the table at future meetings, and a strong signal that QT of up $95/month could begin as soon as next month),'' analysts at ANZ Bank said.

''Markets were already expecting a lot of this, but it was still hawkish and once the dust settled, the USD and US bond yields eventually rose a touch. The NZD is still tracking the AUD; with oil and commodity prices lower overnight, it has been a less rosy backdrop – in the short term at least.''