AUD/USD edges higher to 0.7750 area in choppy day
- AUD/USD trades in a tight range following Friday's upsurge.
- US Dollar Index holds above 90.00 on Monday.
- US Treasury Secretary Yellen's comments helped USD start the week on a firm footing.
The AUD/USD pair inched lower during the Asian trading hours but managed to stage a modest rebound during the European session. As of wiring, the pair was up 0.15% on the day at 0.7750.
DXY stays in the positive territory above 90.00
In an interview with Bloomberg News over the weekend, "if we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment it would actually be a plus for society's point of view and the Fed's point of view," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. This comment allowed the greenback to find demand and helped the US Dollar Index (DXY) start retracing Friday's steep decline on disappointing Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report. Currently, the DXY, which touched a daily high of 90.30, is posting small gains at 90.17.
On the other hand, the data from China showed that Exports expanded by 27.9% on a yearly basis in May. This reading missed the market expectation for an increase of 41.6% by a wide margin but failed to trigger a noticeable market reaction.
Meanwhile, the S&P Futures are down 0.1% and the Dow Futures are up 0.07% on the day, suggesting that Wall Street's main indexes are likely to open near Friday's closing levels.
The only data featured in the US economic docket will be Consumer Credit Change for April. On Tuesday, National Australia Bank's Business Confidence and Business Conditions data from Australia will be looked upon for fresh impetus.
Technical levels to watch for