AUD/USD clings to gains near 1-week tops, comfortable above 0.7100 handle

   “¢   Trump’s criticism over Fed rate hikes prompted some USD profit-taking.
   “¢   US-China trade tensions/Fed rate hike prospects to cap any further up-move.

The AUD/USD pair traded with a bullish bias for the third consecutive session on Wednesday and built on the positive momentum further beyond the 0.7100 handle.

On Tuesday, the US Dollar reversed early gains to seven-week tops after the US President Donald Trump criticized Fed’s rate hikes and helped the pair to recover early lost ground to mid-0.7000s, back closer to 32-month lows.  

The greenback lost some more ground during the Asian session on Wednesday, which coupled with a rebound in the Westpac Australian consumer confidence index, rising 1% to 101.5 in October, further assisted the pair to extend the recovery move.  

However, a subdued action around copper prices did little to provide any additional boost to the commodity-linked Australian Dollar, with the USD price dynamics turning out to be an exclusive driver of the pair’s momentum on Wednesday.  

Meanwhile, persistent worries over US-China trade tensions, and firming expectations for a gradual Fed rate hike through the end of this year, and beyond, might limit further USD downside and eventually keep a lid on any runaway rally for the major.

Moving ahead, today’s release of US PPI print for September will now be looked upon for some fresh trading impetus ahead of a scheduled speech by the RBA Assistant Governor Luci Ellis during the early Asian session on Thursday.

Technical levels to watch

Any subsequent up-move now seems to confront some fresh supply near the 0.7145-50 region, above which the pair is likely to aim towards reclaiming the 0.7200 handle. On the flip side, the 0.7100 handle now seems to protect the immediate downside, which if broken might turn the pair vulnerable to slide back towards over 2-1/2 year lows, around the 0.7050-40 region.