AUD/USD hanging steady above 0.77 ahead of the European markets

• The Aussie is holding on the high side after Retail Sales clean beat expectations.
• Australian Trade Balance figures on the docket for early Thursday presents another chance for the bulls to capitalize if market sentiment holds.

The AUD/USD is holding near the top side at 0.7715 heading into the European session.

The AUD spiked after Aussie Retail Sales sailed past forecasts, even after Chinese Service PMIs contracted unexpectedly and the pair tugged lower on reaction, but the Aussie is remaining elevated as the pair fights back from the bottom of 2018's downtrend.

The next round of macro figures for the Aussie drop early Thursday at 00:30 GMT, with the Australian Trade Balance figures, which are expected to show a $-247 million contraction in the trade balance for February, compared to the previous month's $1.055 million surplus. Market sentiment is still twitchy as the ongoing trade tariff spat between the US and China heats up, and traders will be keeping a close eye on broader market sentiment heading into the Non-Farm Payrolls risk event on Friday.

AUD/USD Levels to watch

Bulls have squeezed most of what they can out of the AUD/USD following the Retail Sales figures, and now it's up to overall market sentiment to carry the risk-based AUD through the rest of Wednesday's action,  and as FXStreet's own Ross Burland noted, "while MACDs and Slow Stochastics suggest a low may be close, daily closes below 76.4 Fibo at 0.7651 (recent low) and a break below 0.7643 could set off a test of the 0.75 handle. On a break higher and through the rising weekly support line and a 200-D SMA just above 0.78 the figure,  0.7910 is open."