AUD/USD returns to 0.6300 area ahead of key China data

• US Dollar Index steadies above 100 during American session.
• Wall Street’s main indexes trade mixed on Thursday.
• Coming up: Industrial Production, Retail Sales and GDP data from China.

The AUD/USD pair spent the first half of the day under selling pressure and dropped to 0.6265 before staging a rebound all the way up to 0.6334 in the early trading hours of the American session. However, with the greenback regathering its strength in the last few hours, the pair erased its recovery gains and dropped below the 0.6300 handle. As of writing, the pair was down 0.25% on the day at 0.6298.

The data published by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed Initial Jobless Claims in the week ending April 11th were 5.2 million. Other data from the US Revealed that Philly Fed Manufacturing Index plunged to a record low of -56.6 in April and Housing Starts declined by 22.3% on a monthly basis in March.

The US Dollar Index, which stayed relatively quiet around 99.70 for the majority of the session, gained traction into the London fix and surged to a fresh weekly high of 100.30 to weigh on the pair. As of writing, the index was up 0.5% on the day at 100.07.

Eyes on Chinese GDP data

On Friday, Retail Sales, Industrial Production and first-quarter GDP data from China will be watched closely by the market participants.

Previewing the data, “if Beijing reports slower contraction than expected, a figure closer to 0%, markets would cheer, sending shares higher and the safe-haven dollar and yen lower,” said FXStreet analyst Yohay Elam. “The Australian dollar may be one of the biggest beneficiaries as Australia depends on China more than other developed economies.”

Technical levels to watch for