AUD/USD Price Losing Steam Under Monthly Highs of 0.7250

• The AUD/USD currency pair declined on Friday, ending its three-day winning streak.
• The market’s decline can be attributed to some overconsumption of stocks after strong gains this week.
• Risk sentiment should limit any meaningful slippage for the riskier Australian dollar.

The AUD/USD price hovered around 0.7230 during the European session around the first half of Friday’s trading. The market looks dry today.

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On Friday, the pair showed some selling and for now appears to have reversed this week’s positive move to more than a month’s high, around mid-0.7200, which was hit on Thursday. However, there was no obvious fundamental catalyst for the downturn, and it could be related to profit-taking after strong gains of about 150 pips over the past three sessions.

However, the prevailing risk sentiment, as evidenced by the positive tone in equity markets, should continue to support the riskier Aussie. Due to reports that existing vaccines may be more effective against the new option than previously thought and that Omicron infections are less likely to result in hospitalizations.

The safe dollar fell weekly as fears of an economic downturn from the rapidly spreading Omicron variant subsided. In addition, it could be a tailwind for the AUD/USD pair and help contain any deeper losses. However, the low liquidity at the end of the year may also discourage traders from placing aggressive bets.

Fundamentals seem to be tilting in favor of bullish traders, although Fed hawkishness will cap dollar drops and limit AUD/USD gains. Amid rising inflationary pressures, the Fed is projected to raise interest rates at least three times next year based on the so-called dot plot.

A strong set of personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data was released on Thursday. In addition, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator, the PCE Price Index, accelerated to 5.7% y/y in November, marking the highest annual growth since 1982. Rates will likely rise on a possible Fed hike in March 2022, boosting dollar demand.

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AUD/USD price technical analysis: Lack of volume in the market

The AUD/USD price looks positive on the day. However, the pair has marked only a 25% average daily range as the market lacks interest. The key SMAs are getting closer to creating a confluence of support. The volume is very low, indicating no directional bias for now.

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