AUD/USD Forecast: pressuring key resistance

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

AUD/USD Current price: 0.7135

Aussie among the best performers, benefiting from base metals' rally on dollar's weakness.
US positive data may end up benefiting the Aussie today.

The AUD/USD pair is trading at fresh 2-week highs around 0.7140, as the dollar is under strong selling pressure across the board. Risk aversion took over the financial world at the weekly opening, and the USD is not the preferred safe-haven today. Now underpinning the Aussie, are European equities struggling to enter in positive ground and base metals' prices, sharply up, with gold at levels last seen mid-July.

Ahead of Wall Street's opening, the US will release the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index for October, foreseen at 20 from the previous 19, and September Retail Sales. Monthly basis, are expected to have increased by 0.5% vs. 0.1% in August, while the ex-autos figure is expected unchanged at 0.3%. The Retail Sales Control Group is expected at 0.4% vs. the previous 0.1%. A better-than-expected outcome could keep US equities on the winning side, and therefore play against the USD when it comes to its value against the AUD.

From a technical point of view, the pair is struggling to overcome a major resistance area, the 50% retracement of the 0.7237/0.7040 slump. In the 4 hours chart, the pair is well above a bullish 20 SMA but below the 100 and 200 SMA which maintain their bearish slopes, while technical indicators have lost their upward strength but remain within positive levels, not enough to confirm a bullish extension but for sure limiting the downside.

Support levels: 0.7085 0.7040 0.7010

Resistance levels: 0.7140 0.7175 0.7200

View Live Chart for the AUD/USD

Author

Valeria Bednarik

FXStreet

Valeria Bednarik was born and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her passion for math and numbers pushed her into studying economics in her younger years.

EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold climbs further, focus is back to 45,000

Gold regains upside traction and surpasses the $4,900 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, shifting its attention to the critical $5,000 region. The move reflects a shift in risk sentiment, driving flows back towards traditional safe haven assets and supporting the yellow metal.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP rebound amid risk-off, $2.6 billion liquidation wave

Bitcoin edges up above $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, as dust from the recent macro-triggered sell-off settles. The leading altcoin, Ethereum, hovers above $1,900, but resistance at $2,000 caps the upside. Meanwhile, Ripple has recorded the largest intraday jump among the three assets, up over 10% to $1.35.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.