AUD/JPY finds the RBA lacking inspiration, holding steady following tariff headlines dip-and-bounce

The AUD/JPY is trading near 81.70 following the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) Meeting Minutes, which revealed nothing new for traders to digest, and market attention is still focused on the ramp-up in the trade war brewing between the US and China.

The RBA's minutes of the last monetary policy meeting revealed little new from the central bank, with the RBA noting that a rise in the Aussie would slow growth potential, while current growth metrics remain "slow, but stable". The lack of change in the bank's rhetoric left Aussie pairs unchanged, and the AUD/JPY is still trying to bounce back from a quick trip into fresh lows following new trade tariff threats from the US directed at China, and the hostilities over trade are sending markets piling into safe havens ahead of China's expected retort.

With the RBA's meeting minutes out fo the way, the rest of the week is a light showing for the Aussie, and overall market sentiment will be the main driver of the AUD/JPY pair, with markets set for further declines as the trade war scenario begins to heat up.

AUD/JPY levels to watch

Today's decline into a new low near 81.40 marks in a potential support level for the day after the pair made a healthy bounce back towards the 82.00 major handle, though the trick for bulls now will be to push the AUD/JPY back into the day's high near 82.10, while bears will be looking for further action into May's lows at the 81.00 key barrier.