AUD/USD retreats to 0.6860 but poised for a weekly gain

AUD/USD corrects lower but is set to close a third consecutive weekly gain.
US Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 63.9 in June vs 60 expected.
Fedspeak makes the USD holds its ground but it is still vulnerable.

Patricio Martín FXStreet

At the end of the week, the AUD/USD bulls seem to have taken a step back; after six consecutive days of gains the pair retreated to the 0.6860 area. In that sense, the USD managed to hold its ground amid upbeat Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index and hawkish Fed speakers. On the Australian front, eyes are on next week’s Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) minutes.

UoM data and the hawkish comments of Fed officials give the USD traction

The University of Michigan (UoM) reported on Friday that the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 63.9 in June vs 60 expected and accelerated from its previous figure of 59.2. In addition, the five-year Consumer Inflation Expectation from June dropped to 3% vs the consensus of 3.1%. The data helped the US Dollar find its feet after the recent decline.

In addition, Fed's Christopher Waller stated that he is concerned with core inflation not seeing progress adding that it may require more tightening. Elsewhere, Thomas Barkin mentioned that he is comfortable “doing more” if the data warrants it. It's worth noting that on Wednesday, the revised dot plots from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) showed that members are seeing two more 25 bps hikes this year, so the hawkish stance from the Fed gives the USD traction.

On the other hand, the focus now shifts to Tuesday’s RBA minutes where investors will look for clues as to why Governor Philip Lowe decided to unexpectedly hike rates by 25 basis points to 4.10% in the last monetary policy meeting.

AUD/USD Levels to watch

According to the daily chart, the AUD/USD holds a neutral to bullish outlook for the short term as the bulls seemed to have taken a step back to consolidate gains, but indicators still favor the Aussie. However, as the pair remains in overbought conditions, more downside may be on the horizon.

If AUD/USD manages to move higher, the next resistances to watch are at the daily high at 0.6890, followed by the psychological mark at 0.6900 and the 0.6920 area. On the other hand, immediate support for the pair line up at 0.6800, 0.6730 and 0.6690.

AUD/USD Daily chart

AUD/USD

Overview
Today last price	0.6863
Today Daily Change	-0.0022
Today Daily Change %	-0.32
Today daily open	0.6885

Trends
Daily SMA20	0.6641
Daily SMA50	0.6668
Daily SMA100	0.673
Daily SMA200	0.6692

Levels
Previous Daily High	0.6893
Previous Daily Low	0.6767
Previous Weekly High	0.6751
Previous Weekly Low	0.6579
Previous Monthly High	0.6818
Previous Monthly Low	0.6458
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	0.6845
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	0.6815
Daily Pivot Point S1	0.6804
Daily Pivot Point S2	0.6722
Daily Pivot Point S3	0.6678
Daily Pivot Point R1	0.6929
Daily Pivot Point R2	0.6974
Daily Pivot Point R3	0.7055

Author

Patricio Martín

FXStreet

Patricio is an economist from Argentina passionate about global finance and understanding the daily movements of the markets.

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