AUD/USD trades in a tight range above 0.79 ahead of Fedspeak

After gaining more than 100 pips on Wednesday, the AUD/USD pair pushed higher on Thursday and refreshed its highest level in nearly two weeks at 0.7962 before starting to retrace its recent earnings. As of writing, the pair was trading at 0.7925, virtually unchanged on the day.

Following yesterday's sharp drop on the FOMC July meeting minutes, the greenback started the day on a high note, allowing the US Dollar Index to recover all of its losses. However, the DXY struggled to extend its upsurge as the 94 handle remained as a tough resistance to crack. Moreover, mixed data from the U.S. seems to have put some pressure on the buck as well. At the moment, the index is at 93.56, up 0.15% on the day.

Although the data released by the US Department of Labor showed that the weekly jobless claims fell 12K to 232K and came in better than the market estimate of 240K, the industrial production in the U.S. disappointed the investors as it eased to 0.2% from 0.4% on a monthly basis in July.

Later in the session, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will be giving his remarks ahead of the Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari's speech. If these FOMC members adopt a dovish tone, the DXY could come under more pressure in the second half of the NA session.

Technical levels to consider

The initial could encounter the first hurdle at 0.7950 (daily high) ahead of 0.8000 (psychological level) and 0.8065 (Jul. 27 high). On the downside, supports align at 0.7825 (Aug. 16 low), 0.7790 (50-DMA) and 0.7730 (Jul. 14 low). 

Today's data from the U.S.

• US: Industrial production rose 0.2% in July following an increase of 0.4% in June
• US: Weekly initial claims was 232,000, a decrease of 12,000 from previous week
• Philly Fed: Manufacturing conditions in the region continued to advance in August