AUD/USD struggles near multi-month lows, well below mid-0.6700s
- AUD/USD remained depressed amid a fresh wave of the global risk-aversion trade.
- A mildly positive tone surrounding the USD further collaborated to the weaker tone.
- Investors now look forward to the Advance US Q4 GDP print for some trading impetus.
The AUD/USD pair now seems to have entered a bearish consolidation phase and was seen oscillating in a range, around the 0.6730-35 region, or 3-1/2 month lows set earlier this Thursday.
The pair added to its recent losses and lost some additional ground during the Asian session on Thursday amid a fresh wave of the global risk aversion trade. With the death toll in China rising to 132, concerns over the economic impact of the deadly coronavirus continued weighing on investors' sentiment.
Aussie weighed down by risk-off mood
The risk-off mood was evident from a sea of red across equity markets. This eventually benefitted the US dollar's relative safe-haven status against the China-proxy Australian dollar. The greenback was further supported by the Fed's unanimous decision to rates steady on Wednesday.
However, the Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in the post-meeting press conference, showed dissatisfaction over the inflation running below the 2% target. This fueled market expectations that the Fed would lower rates at least once this year and kept a lid on the USD positive move, albeit failed to impress bulls.
Moving ahead, market participants now look forward to the US economic docket – highlighting the release of Advance US GDP growth figures for the last quarter of 2019 – in order to grab some meaningful trading opportunities later during the early North-American session on Thursday.
Technical levels to watch