AUD/USD confined in narrow trading band range just above 200-DMA

The AUD/USD pair seems to have entered a consolidative phase and seesawed between tepid gains / minor losses within a narrow trading band just above the very important 200-day SMA.

Holiday thinned market liquidity condition has failed to provide any fresh impetus, forcing the pair to consolidate previous session's strong gains to 1-1/2 week tops. Thursday's release of upbeat Australian jobs data triggered a bout of short-covering, albeit the pair lost its upside momentum just ahead of the 0.76 handle. The pair eventually trimmed some its strong gains but managed to close above the 200-day SMA hurdle.

In absence of any market moving events / economic releases before the NA opening, the pair seems more likely to extend the subdued, range-bounce price-action. Later during the day, the pair is likely to be influence by the US economic docket, featuring the release of latest CPI print and monthly retail sales figures.

Technical levels to watch

On a sustained move above 0.7575 level (session peak), the pair is likely to make a fresh attempt towards conquering the 0.7600 handle before heading towards 50-day SMA hurdle near 0.7625 region.

On the flip side, retracement below 0.7555-50 region (200-day SMA) could prompt some additional profit taking towards 0.7530-25 horizontal support ahead of the key 0.75 psychological mark.