- AUD/USD prints three-day winning streak, stays firm around weekly top.
- Australia’s Westpac Consumer Confidence grew past-2.6% in April.
- US 10-year Treasury yields stay depressed, S&P 500 Futures print mild losses whereas DXY drops to free three-week low.
- Vaccine woes weigh on sentiment, Fed’s Powell eyed.
AUD/USD treads water around 0.7644, recently easing from intraday high of 0.7654, amid Wednesday’s Asian session. In doing so, the Aussie pair pays a little heed to the Australian Westpac Consumer Confidence data for April but remains on the positive side amid broad US dollar losses.
Westpac Consumer Confidence for April rose 6.2% in April versus 2.6% prior. The figures suggest optimism among the Aussie customers despite snap lockdowns in Brisbane.
While upbeat Aussie consumer sentiment figures add to the AUD/USD strength, the main force to the run-up could be traced from the broad US dollar weakness. The greenback gauge, the US dollar index (DXY), drops to the fresh low since March 23 while printing a three-day downtrend by the press time.
The US dollar declined heavily the previous day after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ordered to stop using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in all 50 US states over blood clotting issues. The losses could also be attributed to the US Treasury yields that dropped 5.6 basis points (bps), down 0.5 bps by the press time, after a strong 30-year auction.
Additionally, news that Queensland will have an early unlock and no mask mandate, except for using it inside the airports and public transports, also favored the AUD/USD prices.
Moving on, a lack of major data/events can keep the AUD/USD traders directed towards analyzing the US dollar moves for fresh impulse. However, today’s speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be the key as the central banker will be observed to react to the recently strong inflation figures.
Technical analysis
A sustained break of the one-week-old falling trend line, around 0.7635, directs AUD/USD towards the 200-SMA level of 0.7685.
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