AUD/USD trades with modest gains, upside seems limited ahead of NFP

  • AUD/USD managed to find some support near the 0.7645 region amid oversold conditions.
  • Thursday’s upbeat US macro releases continued underpinning the USD and capped gains.
  • The market focus will remain glued to the closely-watched US monthly jobs report (NFP).

The AUD/USD pair traded with a mild positive bias through the first half of the European session and was last seen hovering near daily tops, around the 0.7665-70 region.

The pair gained some positive traction on the last trading day of the week and has managed to rebound around 25 pips from the 0.7645 region, or the lowest level since April 14. The uptick lacked any obvious catalyst and could be solely attributed to some short-covering from extremely oversold conditions on hourly charts. That said, any meaningful recovery seems elusive amid a modest US dollar strength.

Thursday's upbeat US economic releases indicated that the US recovery is gathering pace and fueled speculations that the Fed may bring forward the timeline for tapering its bond purchases. This, along with the prevalent cautious mood, continued acting as a tailwind for the safe-haven greenback. Investors might also be reluctant to place any aggressive bets ahead of Friday's release of the US monthly jobs data.

The US NFP report will be one of the most important pieces of economic data that would set the tone for the upcoming FOMC meeting later this month. This will play a key role in influencing the near-term USD price dynamics and provide some meaningful impetus to the AUD/USD pair. Hence, it will be prudent to wait for some strong follow-through buying before confirming that the recent downfall has run its course.

Technical levels to watch

AUD/USD

Overview
Today last price 0.7668
Today Daily Change 0.0016
Today Daily Change % 0.21
Today daily open 0.7652

 

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