AUD/USD hangs near weekly lows, just below mid-0.6000s

• AUD/USD failed to capitalize on its early attempted recovery from weekly lows.
• The coronavirus crisis continued to underpin the USD and capped the upside.
• Weaker sentiment around the equity markets further weighed on the aussie.

The AUD/USD pair struggled to capitalize on its Asian session uptick and is currently placed near the lower end of its daily trading range, around the 0.6045 region.

Having found some support near the key 0.60 psychological mark on Thursday, the pair edged higher on the last trading day of the week and was being supported by an upward revision of Australia’s monthly retail sales figures for February.

This coupled with better-than-expected China’s Services PMI print provided a modest lift to the China-proxy Australian dollar and remained support. However, a combination of negative factors kept a lid on any strong follow-through positive move.

The US dollar continued benefitting from its status as the global reserve currency amid concerns over the economic fallout from the coronavirus, which were further fueled by an unprecedented rise in the US initial weekly jobless claims.

The cautious mood was reinforced by a weaker tone around equity markets, which further held investors from placing any aggressive bullish bets around perceived riskier currencies, including the aussie, and capped any meaningful upside for the major.

Investors also seemed reluctant, rather preferred to wait on the sidelines ahead of Friday’s closely watched US monthly jobs report (NFP). This will be followed by the release of US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI, which might provide some meaningful impetus.

Technical levels to watch