AUD/USD trades flat on the day below 0.7000
- AUD/USD continues to trade below 0.700 for third straight day.
- US Dollar Index stays flat near 96.50 on Thursday.
- US economic docket will feature weekly Initial Jobless Claims report.
After failing to rise above 0.7000 earlier in the week, the AUD/USD pair retreated to 0.6950 area on Tuesday but staged a rebound on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the pair seems to be having a difficult time gathering momentum as it continues to trade sideways near 0.6990 on Thursday.
The only data from Australia showed that Home Loans in May declined by 7.6% but was largely ignored by market participants. Moreover, the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) in China ticked up to 2.5% in June as expected.
DXY stays calm on Thursday
Later in the day, the weekly Initial Jobless Claims data from the US will be looked upon for fresh impetus. Ahead of this data, the US Dollar Index (DXY) is flat on the day near 96.50.
Despite the surging number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the US, heightened optimism about a vaccine allows market sentiment to remain upbeat. At the moment, the Euro Stoxx 50 and Germany's DAX 30 indexes are up 0.6% and 1.15%, respectively. If Wall Street opens on a strong footing, the USD could struggle to find demand and cause the pair to make a fresh attempt to break 0.7000.
There won't be any macroeconomic data releases featured in the Australian economic docket and the risk sentiment is likely to continue to impact the pair's movements ahead of the weekend.
Technical levels to watch for