AUD/USD remains on the defensive, below 0.6900 mark post-US ADP report
- AUD/USD struggled to preserve early modest gains beyond the 0.6900 mark, or one-week tops.
- Concerns over rising COVID-19 cases benefitted the safe-haven USD and exerted some pressure.
- The USD maintained its bid tone following the release of the ADP report on private-sector employment.
The AUD/USD pair held on to its mildly weaker tone near session lows, around the 0.6890-85 region, and moved little following the release of the US ADP report.
The pair failed to capitalize on its early uptick to the 0.6920 region, or one-week tops, instead met with some fresh supply and eroded a part of the previous day's positive move. The pullback was exclusively driven by a modest pickup in the US dollar demand amid a fresh leg down in the equity markets.
Investors remain concerned that the second wave of coronavirus infections across the world could trigger renewed lockdown measures and delay the global economic recovery. This, in turn, weighed on investors sentiment and boosted the greenback's relative safe-haven status against its Australian counterpart.
The USD maintained its bid tone and had a rather muted reaction to softer ADP, which showed that private-sector employment rose by 2369K in June as compared to 3000K expected. The disappointment, to a larger extent, was negated by an upward revision of the previous month's reading to +3065K as against -2760K reported earlier.
Wednesday's US economic docket also features the release of ISM Manufacturing PMI and will be followed by minutes of the latest FOMC monetary policy meeting. This will play a key role in influence the USD price dynamics and produce some meaningful trading opportunities around the AUD/USD pair.
Technical levels to watch
Author
Haresh Menghani
FXStreet
Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.
