The Aussie dollar alternates gains with losses vs. its American counterpart, leaving the price action around AUD/USD side-lined above the 0.7600 yardstick on Good Friday. AUD/USD extends the side-lined theme above the 0.7600 level against the backdrop of the more generalized rangebound mood prevailing in the global markets on Good Friday trading. AUD managed to reverse Thursday’s pullback to fresh yearly lows in the 0.7530 zone and closed the session slightly on the positive territory.
Less auspicious results from the Australian docket appear to have weighed on the currency earlier in the week following the small drop in the manufacturing PMI in March (from 56.9 to 56.8), shrinking trade surplus in February, a monthly contraction in Home Loans and the 0.3% drop in Retail Sales from a month earlier, also in February. Moving forward, the release of March’s US Nonfarm Payrolls later in the NA session is expected to bring in potential bouts of volatility in spot amidst the prevailing marginal trading conditions, as most markets are closed on Good Friday.