AUD/USD consolidates gains after refreshing highest level since early April

The AUD/USD pair took advantage of the unabated selling pressure on the greenback and leaped to its highest level since April 4 at 0.7640 in the NA session. Following the upsurge, the pair went into a consolidation phase in the last hour and is now trading at 0.7635, up 0.7% on the day.

After yesterday's sharp drop, the US Dollar Index faced came in under a renewed pressure as investors took the opportunity to sell more dollars following another dismal data from the U.S. The Pending Home Sales in the U.S. contracted by 0.8% in May and missed the market expectation of 0.8%. The US Dollar Index, which dropped to its lowest level since early October at 95.68 on data, is now at 95.80, losing 0.4% on the day.

On the other hand, the strong performance of the major equity indexes in the U.S. coupled with rising crude oil prices helps the commodity-linked aussie preserve its strength. The barrel of West Texas Intermediate is now trading at $44.70, gaining 1% on the day. In the meantime, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 indexes are adding 0.8%.

• WTI stronger, tests $44.80 post-EIA

Technical outlook

The RSI indicator on the daily graph is approaching the overbought area, suggesting that the pair could have a difficult time adding to its gains before making a technical correction. 0.7640 (daily high) could be seen as the initial hurdle for the pair ahead of 0.7680 (Mar. 30 high) and 0.7745 (Mar. 20 high). To the downside, supports could be encountered at 0.7565 (20-DMA), 0.7515 (200-DMA) and 0.7480 (50-DMA).