NZD/USD posts small losses below 0.6600

• US Dollar Index stays in consolidation phase above 97.50.
• US Pres. Trump criticizes Federal Reserve's monetary policy. 
• Coming up on Thursday: Fourth-quarter inflation report from New Zealand.

The NZD/USD pair struggles to stage a technical recovery and trades below the 0.6600 handle on Wednesday. As of writing, the pair was down 0.05% on the day at 0.6592.

The lack of significant macroeconomic data releases during the first half of the week allows major currency pairs to stay relatively quiet. During an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, US President Trump, once again, criticized the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

The GDP would be near 4% in 2019 if it weren't for the Fed's wrong decisions on interest rates, Trump argued. Nevertheless, the greenback largely ignored Trump's comments and continues to move sideways above 97.50 for the third straight day.

Eyes on New Zealand inflation

In the early trading hours of the Asian session on Thursday, Statistics New Zealand will release the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the fourth quarter, which is expected to rise to 1.8% on a yearly basis from 1.5%. 

Previewing the data, "we expect a 0.4% rise in the Consumers Price Index (CPI) for the December quarter, with annual inflation lifting to 1.8%," said Westpac analyst Michael Gordon. "Our forecast is higher than the Reserve Bank’s estimate, though the difference is on the more transitory tradables side of the CPI."

Technical levels to watch for