AUD/USD climbs to session tops, around 0.7620 region amid softer USD

  • AUD/USD gained some positive traction on Friday amid a modest USD pullback.
  • Optimism over a stronger US economic recovery might help limit the USD slide.
  • Reluctance ahead of the US NFP report might further cap the upside for the pair.

The AUD/USD pair edged higher during the early European session and refreshed daily tops, around the 0.7615-20 region in the last hour.

Following the previous day's pullback of around 60 pips from the 0.7645-50 area, the pair managed to regain some positive traction on the last trading day of the week. The aussie found some support after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), in its Statement of Monetary Policy (SoMP), sounded upbeat on the economic outlook.

The positive factor, to some extent, helped offset the RBA's dovish policy stance, reaffirming that it was committed to keeping policy highly supportive until inflation reaches its 2-3% target band. The statement showed that even in an optimistic scenario, inflation but would stay below 2% by mid-2023, the end of the forecast period.

On the other hand, the US dollar was seen consolidating its recent strong gains to the highest level in more than two months. This was seen as another factor the provided a modest to the AUD/USD pair amid the underlying bullish sentiment in the financial markets, which tends to benefit the perceived riskier Australian dollar.

Meanwhile, the incoming positive macro data, along with prospects for a massive US fiscal spending has been fueling optimism about a stronger economic recovery. This might continue to extend some support to the greenback and cap gains for the AUD/USD pair. Investors might also refrain from placing aggressive bets ahead of the US monthly jobs report.

The headline NFP is anticipated to show that the US economy added 50K new jobs in January, following an abrupt fall in the final month of 2020. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 6.7%. Apart from this, the US bond yields might influence the USD price dynamics and produce some trading opportunities around the AUD/USD pair.

Technical levels to watch

 

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