• NZD/USD weakens for the second consecutive day near 0.6155 on Friday. 
• The hawkish Fed is likely to lift the Greenback in the near term. 
• New Zealand's Business NZ PMI contracted to 47.2 in May vs. 48.9 prior. 

The NZD/USD pair extends downside around 0.6155 during the Asian session on Friday. The firmer Greenback and weaker New Zealand PMI data exert some selling pressure on the pair. The preliminary US Michigan Consumer Sentiment report is due later on Friday. Also, the Fed Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee is scheduled to speak. 

The US Fed signaled that it will cut its key interest rate just once by 25 basis points (bps) toward the year-end, boosting the US Dollar (USD). Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that the central bank would need "good inflation readings" before lowering borrowing costs, per the BBC. 

About the US data, the US Producer Price Index (PPI) climbed 2.2% YoY in May, compared to the 2.3% rise in April, below the forecast of 2.5%. The core PPI figure rose 2.3% YoY in May, below the consensus and the previous reading of 2.4%, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed on Thursday. Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending June 6 increased by 242K, the highest in ten months. This figure came above the market consensus of 225K and the previous week's reading of 229K.

 On the Kiwi front, New Zealand manufacturing has remained in contraction for 15 consecutive months, which undermines the New Zealand Dollar (NZD). Early Friday, Business NZ showed that the nation’s Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) contracted to 47.2 in May from the previous reading of 48.9. ANZ analysts expect the weaker economic data would suggest the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) sooner than previously signaled, with expectations for rate cuts starting in February 2025