FxWirePro: AUD/USD holds marginal gains, upbeat Australia Q4 Retail Sales Output buoys

Chart - Courtesy Trading View 

AUD/USD was trading 0.21% higher on the day at 0.7088 at around 04:50 GMT.

The pair remains confined to narrow range amid mixed data from China and Australia earlier on Monday.

China Caixin Services PMI dropped to 51.4 in January, versus 52.9 market consensus and 53.1 prior.

Further, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed retail sales rose 8.2% in the quarter to A$93.2 billion ($65.90 billion) beating forecasts of 8.1%

Russia-linked fears and hawkish Fed concerns keep traders sentiment low, and keep sideways performance in the pair.

Technical indicators are inconclusive. Upside capped at daily cloud and 21-EMA resistance. Stochs and RSI are flat in neutral zone.

Volatility is high and MACD and ADX support weakness in the pair. GMMA indicator shows major and minor trend are bearish.

Major Support Levels: 

S1: 0.7051 (38.2% Fib)

S2: 0.7000 (Lower BB)

S3: 0.6975 (Jan 28 low)

Major Resistance Levels: 

R1: 0.7112 (5-DMA)

R2: 0.7135 (21-EMA)

R3: 0.7152 (20-DMA)

Summary: AUD/USD upside lacks traction. The pair is poised to resume downside. Bearish invalidation only above daily cloud.