AUD/USD struggles to stay above 0.68 as attention stays on US-China trade talks
|- Uninspiring labour market data weighed on the AUD on Thursday.
- US Dollar Index moves sideways below 98.50 today.
- Focus remains on US-China trade talks ahead of the weekend.
The AUD/USD pair closed the day with a loss of more than 30 pips on Thursday pressured by the uninspiring labour market data from Australia. Although the pair staged a technical correction earlier today, it seems to be struggling to hold above the 0.68 handle. As of writing, the pair was posting small daily gains at 0.6794.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday reported that the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.3% in August expected. More worryingly the number of full-time workers decreased by 15,500 following July's 32,000 increase to weigh on the AUD.
USD turns quiet after FOMC meeting
On the other hand, following the sharp fluctuations witnessed on Wednesday caused by the reaction to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcements and FOMC Chairman Powell's remarks on the outlook, the US Dollar Index seems to have gone into a consolidation phase below 98.50 in the second half of the week. As of writing, the index was virtually unchanged on the day. There won't be any significant macroeconomic data releases from the US in the remainder of the day and markets will remain focused on the headlines surrounding the US-China trade dispute.
Earlier today, Chinese Energy Administration said that China could import a large amount of oil and gas from the US if there was no trade war, which is seen as a positive development ahead of the high-level talks in October.
Technical levels to watch for
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