• The USD continues to be weighed down by Powell’s cautious comments.
• US-China trade optimism underpinning Aussie and remained supportive.
• Technical buying above 0.7100 handle point to an extension of the up-move.
The AUD/USD pair pushed further beyond the 0.7100 handle and is currently placed at two-week tops, around the 0.7135 region.
A combination of supporting factors assisted the pair to continue gaining positive traction for the third consecutive session and build on its sharp recovery move from the flash crash through to almost a decade low.
With investors looking past blockbuster US monthly jobs report, the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s cautious comments on Friday kept the US Dollar bulls on the defensive and was seen as one of the key factors driving the pair higher.
Speaking at the American Economics Association meeting in Atlanta, Powell stressed that the central bank wouldn’t push interest rates higher and fueled expectations of a possible pause to the Fed's policy tightening in 2019.
This coupled with the recent optimism over a comprehensive US-China trade deal further underpinned the China-proxy Australian Dollar and remained supportive of the ongoing positive momentum.
The up-move at the start of a new trading week could also be attributed some follow-through technical buying following Friday's bullish breakthrough the 0.7070-75 supply zone and a sustained trade above the 0.7100 handle.
Hence, a subsequent up-move, towards testing its next resistance near mid-0.7100s, now looks a distinct possibility ahead of today's only scheduled release of the US ISM non-manufacturing PMI.
Technical levels to watch
AUD/USD
Overview:
Today Last Price: 0.7132
Today Daily change: 16 pips
Today Daily change %: 0.225%
Today Daily Open: 0.7116
Trends:
Previous Daily SMA20: 0.7104
Previous Daily SMA50: 0.7184
Previous Daily SMA100: 0.7185
Previous Daily SMA200: 0.7344
Levels:
Previous Daily High: 0.7125
Previous Daily Low: 0.6993
Previous Weekly High: 0.7125
Previous Weekly Low: 0.6684
Previous Monthly High: 0.7394
Previous Monthly Low: 0.7014
Previous Daily Fibonacci 38.2%: 0.7075
Previous Daily Fibonacci 61.8%: 0.7043
Previous Daily Pivot Point S1: 0.7031
Previous Daily Pivot Point S2: 0.6946
Previous Daily Pivot Point S3: 0.6899
Previous Daily Pivot Point R1: 0.7163
Previous Daily Pivot Point R2: 0.721
Previous Daily Pivot Point R3: 0.7295
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