AUD/USD remains stuck in a range below 0.6800 handle

Rising US bond yields helped limit the USD downtick and capped gains.
Bullish trades seemed reluctant amid persistent US-China trade concerns.
The focus shifts to Wednesday’s important release of the FOMC minutes.

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

The AUD/USD pair edged up during the Asian session on Wednesday, albeit continued with its struggle to capitalize on the uptick and move back above the 0.6800 round figure mark.

The pair extended its sideways consolidative price action and remained well within a broader trading range held over the past one week or so, with a combination of diverging forces failing to provide any meaningful impetus and leading to a subdued trading action on Wednesday.

Traders look to subdued USD demand/US-China trade

The US Dollar held on the defensive as investors preferred to wait on the sidelines ahead of Wednesday's important release of the latest FOMC meeting minutes, which will be followed by the Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday.

However, a goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields - supported by the prevalent risk-on mood - helped limit the USD downside and turned out to be one of the key factors that kept a lid on any meaningful up-move amid persistent US-China trade concerns.

In the latest US-China trade-related development, the US President Donald Trump said that he is still not ready to make a trade deal with China and held investors from placing any aggressive bets around the China-proxy Australian Dollar.

Moving ahead, Wednesday's key focus will be on the FOMC meeting minutes, which will be closely scrutinized for clues over the Fed's intention to cut interest rates further in September and might play a key role in determining the pair's near-term direction.

Technical levels to watch

AUD/USD

Overview
Today last price	0.6778
Today Daily Change	0.0002
Today Daily Change %	0.03
Today daily open	0.6776

Trends
Daily SMA20	0.6815
Daily SMA50	0.6909
Daily SMA100	0.6963
Daily SMA200	0.7056

Levels
Previous Daily High	0.6796
Previous Daily Low	0.6754
Previous Weekly High	0.6818
Previous Weekly Low	0.6736
Previous Monthly High	0.7082
Previous Monthly Low	0.6832
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	0.678
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	0.677
Daily Pivot Point S1	0.6755
Daily Pivot Point S2	0.6733
Daily Pivot Point S3	0.6713
Daily Pivot Point R1	0.6797
Daily Pivot Point R2	0.6817
Daily Pivot Point R3	0.6839

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

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

GBP/USD holds gains below 1.3450 as markets bet on more BoE rate hikes

GBP/USD holds moderate gains but stays below 1.3450 in the European morning hours on Friday. The British Pound gains amid optimism on the UK government leadership transition and Bank of England rate hike bets. Meanwhile, the US Dollar loses ground on Middle East de-escalation and receding Fed rate hike expectations.

EUR/USD advances to 1.1450 on softer USD, ECB rate hike bets

EUR/USD advances to near 1.1450 in the early European hours on Friday, bolstered by a softer US Dollar. The European Central Bank is grappling with elevated core inflation, forcing traders to price in more aggressive tightening despite mixed guidance from ECB officials, lending support to the pair.

Gold: 21-day SMA is yet again the level to beat for XAU/USD bulls

Gold is defending the $4,100 level early Friday, trying hard to capitalize on this week’s rebound from four-day lows of $4,022 even as tensions in the Middle East appear to have somewhat eased. Despite the recent upswing, Gold remains on track to book a weekly loss, undermined by the revival of inflationary concerns.

Bitcoin recovers on easing US-Iran tensions; DeXe and Arbitrum rally

Bitcoin price rises above $63,000 extending its recovery as tensions between the US and Iran ease following missile strikes earlier this week. DeXe (DEXE) and Arbitrum (ARB) are leading gains over the last 24 hours as the broader market risk-off sentiment eases.

Five sessions, one round trip: Why the whipsaw is exactly what Warsh ordered

Markets opened July with a December hike as the base case and spent five trading sessions unlearning and relearning it. A 57K payrolls print bled the tightening bets out of the strip; a re-shut Strait of Hormuz is pushing them back in. Wednesday's minutes from the June Federal Open Market Committee meeting landed mid-round-trip, describing a world that had already stopped existing.

Bye, forward guidance: How to trade when central banks choose silence

Central banks have spent years telling markets what might come next. Now, traders face the possibility that they say a lot less. From the Federal Reserve to the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, policymakers are pushing back against forward guidance.