On Thursday, the AUD/USD currency pair extended Wednesday’s pullback from the current week’s high of about 0.6963 to trade at 0.6879. The currency pair also completed a downward breakout from an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart.

The pair has now fallen to trade slightly below the 100-hour moving average line. However, the currency pair bounced back later to avoid falling into the oversold 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 both markets. In Australia, building permits for February outperformed the (MoM) forecast of 6.5%, with a change of 29.7%. Exports for January grew by 4.9% (MoM) compared to a decline of 1.6% in December. On the other hand, imports for February fell by 3.2%, compared to a growth rate of 1.1% in January.

In the US, the initial jobless claims for last week fell to 202k, down from 211k in the preceding week, beating the forecasted claim count of 212k. On Wednesday, the ISM Manufacturing PMI for March came in better than expected, with 52.7 versus a forecast of 52.5, up from 52.4 in February. The ISM Manufacturing Prices Paid for the period also outshone the estimate of 73, with a reading of 78.3, up from 70.5.

The ADP employment change for the month fell to 62k, down from 66k in February, beating the forecasted change of 40k. The retail sales for February exceeded the (MoM) forecast of 0.5%, with a change of 0.6%. The retail sales ex-autos also outshone the estimate of 0.3%, with a change of 0.5%.

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

Technically, the AUD/USD currency pair has completed a downward breakout from an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. However, the 14-hour RSI bounced back later to avoid falling into oversold conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to stretch the latest rebound towards 0.6918 or higher to 0.6963. On the other hand, the bears will look to pound on profits at about 0.6834 or lower at 0.6790.

AUD/USD Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the AUD/USD currency pair trades within a descending channel formation. The 14-day RSI also supports a long-term bearish bias after pulling back to recover from overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to extend the current pullback towards 0.6724 or lower to 0.6561. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on rebounds at about 0.7029 or higher at 0.7184.