AUD/USD drops to multi-week lows below 0.7300 on broad USD strength
|- AUD/USD came under renewed bearish pressure in American session.
- US Dollar Index extends rally, closes in on 93.00.
- Strong US Retail Sales data, rising US T-bond yields boost USD.
The AUD/USD pair edged lower following the disappointing employment data from Australia during the Asian trading hours on Thursday and extended its slide in the second half of the day. As of writing, the pair was trading at its lowest level since late August at 0.7288, losing 0.64% on a daily basis.
DXY rises toward 93.00 on upbeat data
The renewed USD strength in the American session seems to be weighing on AUD/USD. The US Dollar Index is currently rising 0.5% on the day at 92.93.
The data published by the US Census Bureau showed on Thursday that Retail Sales increased by 0.7% on a monthly basis in August. This reading beat the market expectation for a decline of 0.7% and helped the greenback outperform its rivals. Additionally, the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index improved sharply to 30.7 in September from 19.4 in August.
Commenting on the US data, "the US consumer was out and about in August, contrary to the depressing University of Michigan's ten-year trough in its Consumer Sentiment Index," said FXStreet Analyst Yohay Elam. "Will these figures push the Federal Reserve to taper its bond-buying scheme? An early withdrawal of stimulus would hurt stocks."
US Data Analysis: Strong demand, weaker inflation, Goldilocks state for markets set to return.
In the meantime, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield is rising 3%, providing an additional boost to the USD.
On Friday, the HIA New Home Sales for August will be featured in the Australian economic docket.
Technical levels to watch for
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