The Australian dollar fluctuated in a tight range slipping into the Asian session against the US dollar amid a lack of economic data earlier this week by the Australian economy and on the eve of developments and economic data expected Tuesday by the US economy, the largest economy in the world, which includes the first half of the certificate half Annual meeting of Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell to Congress.
At 02:20 GMT, the Australian dollar fell 0.08% to 0.7161 compared to the opening levels at 0.7167 after the pair reached a low of 0.7151 and a high of 0.7173.
From the US economy, we look forward to the release of the housing market data with the reading of the Construction Starts Index and Building Permits, which may give a low reading during December, where construction permits are expected to show a 2.8% drop to 1,290,000 versus 5.00% at 1,328K , And the index of newly constructed houses may show a drop of 0.5% at 1,250,000 versus a rise of 3.2% at 1,256,000.
Ahead of the home price index reading, which could reflect slowing growth to 0.3% from 0.4% in November, and the upcoming event today, Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell's semi-annual policy statement to the Senate Banking Committee, before completing his half- Annual meeting on Wednesday with his appearance before the Financial Services Committee in the House of Representatives.
Today, at a later date, we expect the consumer confidence reading for February to rise to 124.3 from 120.2 in January, with the reading of the Rachamond Industrial Index which may give a reading of 8 versus a contraction of 2 in January.
Technical analysis:
The Aussie was able to return to the ascending sub-channel where it was trading as the price formed a double top pattern.
The pair is currently trading near the previous resistance 0.7152 at the lower limit of the ascending channel.
The moving averages of 50-20 form a support level for the price and contribute to a return to the upside.
Stochastic was in a downtrend that reached the oversold area and is expected to be a sign of bearish momentum and a correction of the price especially since the price is trading near a support point at the bottom of the ascending channel.
The expected movement between 0.7130 support and resistance is 0.7175
Support and resistance:
Support: 0.7152-0.7130-0.7097
Resistance: 0.7175-0.7197