The AUD/USD pair lacked any firm directional bias on Friday and remained confined in a narrow trading band below the 0.6900 mark through the early European session.
The pair failed to capitalize on the previous session's late bounce of around 45 pips from the 0.6845 region and remained on the defensive on the last trading day of the week. Investors refrained from placing any aggressive bullish bets amid the prevalent cautious mood.
Growing market worries that a surge in coronavirus cases could trigger fresh lockdown measures continued weighing on investors' sentiment. This was evident from a softer tone around the equity markets, which capped the upside for the perceived riskier Australian dollar.