AUD/USD holds steady around 0.6900 handle, in search of a firm direction
- AUD/USD remains confined in a multi-day-old trading range.
- Bulls seemed rather unimpressed by the US-China trade deal.
- Traders look forward to the US retail sales for a fresh impetus.
The AUD/USD pair extended its sideways consolidative price action on Thursday and remained confined in a multi-day-old trading range, around the 0.6900 handle.
The pair did benefit and got a minor lift during the Asian session on Thursday in reaction to the conclusion of the US-China phase one trade deal, albeit failed to capitalize on the move and remained capped near the 0.6920 region.
Bulls remained on the sidelines
The fact that the deal was largely priced in the market, the long-awaited trade agreement between the world's two largest economies failed to impress bulls or provide any meaningful impetus to the China-proxy Australian dollar.
Meanwhile, the US Vice President Mike Pence said that Phase 2 discussions had already begun and negotiators are working to resolve differences. That helped boost investors' appetite for riskier assets and extended some support to the major.
The risk-on mood was further reinforced by a modest uptick in the US Treasury bond yields, which seemed to underpin the US dollar demand and turned out to be a key factor that kept a lid on any further gains for the major, at least for now.
Moving ahead, market participants now look forward to the US economic docket, highlighting the release of monthly retail sales data, which might influence the USD price dynamics and produce some short-term trading opportunities.
Technical levels to watch