On Friday, the AUD/USD currency pair pulled back from the session highs of about 0.6704 to trade at about 0.6699 after the latest data. The currency pair trades within a sideways channel formation in the 60-minute chart.

The pair continues to trade slightly above the 100-hour moving average line, despite the pullback. Friday’s pullback prevented the currency pair from ascending closer to the overbought levels of the 14-hour RSI.

AUD/USD Fundamentals Overview

From a fundamental perspective, the AUD/USD currency pair trades during a relatively busy period in the U.S. market. On Thursday, the initial jobless claims for last week came in better than expected, with 198k versus a forecast of 215k, down from the previous week’s claim count of 207k. The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index for January also outperformed the expectation of 1, with a reading of 7.7, while the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey for the month beat the forecast of -2, with a reading of 12.6.

Earlier in the week, U.S. retail sales for November outperformed the expected (MoM) change of 0.4%, with a change of 0.6%. The retail sales ex-autos for the period also beat the expectation of 0.4%, with a change of 0.5% (MoM). On the other hand, the producer price index for November matched the forecasted (MoM) change of 0.2%. The (YoY) equivalent outshone the estimate of 2.7%, with a change of 3%. 

The producer price index ex-food and energy missed the expected (MoM) change of 0.3%, with a change of 0%. The (YoY) equivalent exceeded the expectation of 2.7%, with a change of 3%.

AUD/USD Technical Analysis (the 60-min Chart)

Technically, the AUD/USD currency pair trades within a sideways channel formation in the 60-minute chart. The 14-hour RSI still has room left to run before reaching overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to stretch the latest rebound towards 0.6733 or higher to 0.6766. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on profits at about 0.6663 or lower at 0.6629.

AUD/USD Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the AUD/USD currency pair trades within an ascending channel formation. However, the 14-day RSI has recently pulled back to avoid rallying into overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to extend the latest pullback towards 0.6577 or lower to 0.6450. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on extended gains at about 0.6822 or higher at 0.6939.