Aussie dollar range bound amid growing COVID19 concerns

Daily Currency Update

The Australian Dollar is fractionally lower this morning against the US Dollar trading around 0.6950. The advance of the local currency seems to be stalling just ahead of a key resistance levels against the Greenback having failed to extend the weeks early uptick and push through 0.70 US cents last week. We anticipate the AUD will remain range bound through the short-term, bouncing between support and resistance handles as the ebb and flow of risk demands follows the shifting COVID-19 led narrative. The COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne and the subsequent six-week lockdown imposed on the city will continue to be closely watched this week with Melbourne being a key economic hub for Australia and there will certainly be a hit to economic growth.
Looking ahead this week on the data front and on Tuesday we will see the release of the NAB Business Confidence followed by Westpac Consumer Sentiment on Wednesday. On Thursday all eyes will be on the employment release which is forecast to jump from 7.1% to 7.2%. From a technical perspective, the AUD/USD pair is currently trading at 0.6956. We continue to expect support to hold on moves approaching 0.6923 while now any upward push will likely meet resistance around 0.6992.