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AUD/USD rebounds from 4-month lows, manages to defend 0.76 handle

   •  Upbeat NAB survey help offset Chinese data disappointment.
   •  Fed Chair Yellen speech in focus ahead of US PPI.

The AUD/USD pair managed to defend the 0.7600 handle and recovered around 25-pips from over 4-month lows touched earlier. 

The pair gained some positive traction and was being supported by upbeat NAB Business Confidence Index for October, rising to +8, with the NAB business survey jumping to +21 from +14.

Meanwhile, the market seems to have largely ignored slightly weaker than expected Chinese data, showing  Oct. retail sales increased 10.0% y-o-y (10.3% last) and industrial production growth eased to 6.2% y-o-y (6.6% last). 

Even a modest uptick in the US Treasury bond yields, which extended some support to the US Dollar and tends to drive flows away from higher-yielding currencies, did little to stall the pair's modest recovery move to the 0.7635-40 region.

Investors on Tuesday will remain focused on the key central banker speeches, including the Fed Chair Janet Yellen, and would be looked upon for some impetus ahead of the US PPI print, due later during the NA session.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate resistance is pegged near the 0.7640-45 region, above which a fresh bout of short-covering could lift the pair back towards 0.7680 horizontal resistance ahead of the very important 200-day SMA barrier near the 0.7700 handle.

On the flip side, the 0.7610-0.7600 region now becomes an immediate support to defend, which if broken could accelerate the slide towards 0.7575-70 support zone en-route 0.7545 level.
 

Author

Haresh Menghani

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

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