AUD/USD steadies around 0.7700, up nearly 10% in 2020
- AUD/USD rose to its highest level since April 2018.
- AUD/USD is up nearly 10% after starting 2020 near 0.7000.
- US Dollar Index stays flat near 89.60 ahead of US data.
The AUD/USD pair extended its rally and touched its best level since April 2018 at 0.7717 on Thursday. Ahead of the last American session of the year, however, the pair seems to have gone into a consolidation phase and was last seen gaining 0.3% on the day at 0.7705. In 2020, the pair is up nearly 10% after starting the year at 0.7016.
In the absence of significant fundamental drivers, the selling pressure surrounding the greenback provided a boost this week. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the USD's performance against a basket of six major currencies, is currently sitting at fresh multi-year lows at 89.59, losing 0.7% on a weekly basis.
Later in the session, the US Department of Labor will release its weekly Initial Jobless Claims data. However, AUD/USD is likely to stay quiet in the second half of the day with trading conditions thinning out into the New Year Holiday.
AUD/USD 2021 outlook
AUD/USD Price Forecast 2021: Winning the covid crisis insufficient for the aussie to withstand Chinese boomerang.
"Emerging from the worst of the crisis is the aussie's speciality but maintaining the bullish trend is entirely different," says FXStreet analyst Yohay Elam. "The post-covid year could start with a surge but end with a downtrend for AUD/USD as the world catches up, geopolitical dynamics shift and central bank actions fail to provide the same oomph as beforehand."
Technical levels to watch for