- Greenback continues to gather strength despite lack of fundamental drivers.
- US Dollar Index rises above 98.50 on Friday.
- AUD/USD remains on track to post losses for fourth straight week.
After rebounding to 0.6780 area during the European trading hours, the AUD/USD pair lost its traction in the last hour pressured by the broad-based USD strength and slumped to its lowest level since October 17th at 0.6761. As of writing, the pair was trading a couple of pips above that level, adding 0.07% on the day.
USD rallies despite thin market conditions
Although there were no macroeconomic data releases from the US on Friday that could support the greenback, the selling pressure surrounding the major European currencies, especially the EUR and the GBP, helped the USD continue to gather strength against its rivals. As of writing, the US Dollar Index was trading at its highest level in nearly six weeks at 98.50, up 0.17% on a daily basis.
Earlier in the day, Australia’s Housing Industry Association reported that New Home Sales in October declined by 0.5% in October to fall short of the market expectation for an increase of 6.6% and weighed on the AUD. Moreover, Private Sector Credit grew only 0.1% in October.
With the stock and bond markets in the US both staying open for half-day on Friday, the pair is likely to stay in its range ahead of the weekend. However, month-end flows into London fix could ramp up the volatility.
Technical levels to watch for
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