AUD/USD trades higher to start the day, but key near-term levels still intact

AUD/USD H1 18-05

The aussie leads the charge in the major currencies space, as we see equities keep more upbeat in European morning trade. That is helping AUD/USD to trade around 0.6440 levels currently, with the pair up by over 0.5% now.

However, despite the move to the upside, sellers are keeping near-term control in the pair.

This is seen as price action is still below both the key hourly moving averages with the 100-hour MA (red line) close by @ 0.6455. Stay below that and the near-term bias is more bearish, but break above and the near-term bias then turns more neutral instead.

Just above that, further resistance is then seen at the confluence of the near-term trendline resistance and the 200-hour MA (blue line) around 0.6466-69 currently.

That will be the key spot for buyers to break above to sustain any short-term momentum.

Looking further out, the 100-day moving average remains the key line in the sand that has helped to limit any upside gain and that rests @ 0.6511.

For buyers, they need to break above the key levels highlighted above in order to really find any further momentum for a stronger upside break. As for sellers, the levels above will provide key areas to lean on in order to keep the downside bias in the pair for now.

Looking ahead, risk sentiment will continue to be the key driver of the pair and for now, the risk mood is keeping more optimistic. But as mentioned earlier, be wary of US-China headlines as they could mess up the picture in the coming sessions.

Translating that to the chart, the risk mood today is helping buyers move closer to key near-term levels but they are not enough to suggest a major shift in momentum yet.