AUD/USD struggles for a firm direction, stuck in a range around 0.6900 mark
- AUD/USD struggled to capitalize on the overnight strong rebound from over one-week-lows.
- Concerns over rising coronavirus cases globally underpinned demand for the safe-haven USD.
- Softer Australian housing data was offset by upbeat Chinese PMI and did little to influence.
- Investors now eye US ADP report, ISM PMI and FOMC meeting minutes for a fresh impetus.
The AUD/USD pair lacked any firm directional bias and seesawed between tepid gains/minor losses, around the 0.6900 mark through the Asian session on Wednesday.
The pair failed to capitalize on the previous day's goodish bounce of around 90 pips from over one-week lows and remained confined in 30 pips narrow trading band. A combination of diverging forces failed to provide any meaningful impetus and led to a range-bound price moves through the first half of trading action on Wednesday.
The stronger than expected China's Caixin Manufacturing PMI for June helped offset the disappointing release of Building Permits data from Australia. This coupled with a subdued US dollar demand extended some support to the China-proxy aussie and helped limit any meaningful downside for the AUD/USD pair, at least for the time being.
Meanwhile, concerns about surging coronavirus cases around the world continued weighing on investors' sentiment. This was evident from a cautious mood around the equity markets, which coupled with a strong pickup in the US Treasury bond yields underpinned the safe-haven USD. This, in turn, capped the upside for the AUD/USD pair.
Market participants now look forward to the US economic docket, highlighting the release of the ADP report on private-sector employment and ISM Manufacturing PMI. This followed by minutes of the latest FOMC monetary policy meeting will influence the USD price dynamics and produce some short-term trading opportunities later this Wednesday.
Technical levels to watch