AUD/USD holds below 0.6700, at weekly lows

US Dollar mixed on a relatively quiet Monday.
Key events ahead: Australia CPI on Wednesday and US Q1 GDP on Thursday.
AUD/USD weakens, but losses are limited on low volume.

Matías Salord FXStreet

The AUD/USD is falling on Monday for the second day, consolidating below 0.6700. In a quiet session, the US Dollar is mixed, and equity prices on Wall Street are falling modestly.

Sideways, looking south

Data released on Monday showed the important Chicago Fed National Activity Index remained unchanged in March at -0.19, and the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index came in at -23.4, well below the -15.7 market consensus. The numbers had no significant impact on subdued markets. US yields are falling modestly, weighing on the Greenback.

The critical event in the US will be on Thursday, with growth numbers from the first quarter. No Federal Reserve officials will speak this week ahead of the FOMC May 2-3 meeting.

In Australia, the critical report will be on Wednesday, with Q1 and March Consumer Price Index, the last crucial report ahead of next week’s Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting. At the moment, the odds favor a new pause from the RBA.

Short-term outlook

Technically the outlook for the Aussie has worsened after the AUD/USD dropped below the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). The pair bottomed on Monday at 0.6665 and then rebounded modestly. The key support is the 0.6630 area, ahead of the March low at 0.6618. A recovery above 0.6700 should strengthen the Aussie, with the next resistance at 0.6740.

Technical levels

AUD/USD

Overview
Today last price	0.6681
Today Daily Change	-0.0009
Today Daily Change %	-0.13
Today daily open	0.669

Trends
Daily SMA20	0.6704
Daily SMA50	0.6727
Daily SMA100	0.6798
Daily SMA200	0.6743

Levels
Previous Daily High	0.6754
Previous Daily Low	0.6678
Previous Weekly High	0.6772
Previous Weekly Low	0.6678
Previous Monthly High	0.6784
Previous Monthly Low	0.6564
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	0.6707
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	0.6725
Daily Pivot Point S1	0.6661
Daily Pivot Point S2	0.6631
Daily Pivot Point S3	0.6585
Daily Pivot Point R1	0.6737
Daily Pivot Point R2	0.6783
Daily Pivot Point R3	0.6812

Author

Matías Salord

FXStreet

Matías started in financial markets in 2008, after graduating in Economics. He was trained in chart analysis and then became an educator. He also studied Journalism. He started writing analyses for specialized websites before joining FXStreet.

AUD/USD bulls regain control above 0.6950 amid USD retreat

AUD/USD regains traction and extends the previous day's bounce from the weekly low, aiming for 0.7000 in Asia on Friday. The overnight pullback in US bond yields keeps the US Dollar below an 18-month high, which in turn offers some support to the pair. Meanwhile, hawkish RBA expectations also keep the major underpinned.

USD/JPY holds gains near 158.00 after Japan's weak Household Spending data

USD/JPY clings to gains around 158.00 after data showed on Friday that Japan's Household Spending fell for the ninth straight month, undermining the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar remains depressed as the overnight fall in US bond yields counters a hawkish Fed and geopolitical uncertainties, could cap any downside in the pair.

Gold remains range-bound below $4,200

Gold has given up some ground after an initial bullish attempt to reach weekly highs, returning to below the $4,200 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The US Dollar’s strong upside momentum, combined with rising US Treasury yields across the curve, seems to keep further gains in the yellow metal under scrutiny.

Has Bitcoin really escaped the macro forces it was built to fight?

Over 17 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin (BTC) on the back of a global financial crisis as an alternative to the global monetary system outside the control of central banks, governments and traditional intermediaries. This raises a key question: has Bitcoin really become independent of the macroeconomic forces it was built to challenge?

The Euro is not the sick man of Europe. France's bond market is

EUR/USD remains under pressure, near the 17-month low of 1.1161 reached on Monday. The pair has lost more than 7% since its yearly peak, as concerns over France's public finances increasingly weigh on the single currency. But behind the weakness of the Euro (EUR), the problem does not necessarily lie with the European economy as a whole.