FxWirePro: AUD/USD rangebound below 5-DMA, Australia final Retail Sales drops more than expected in July

AUD/USD chart - Trading View 

AUD/USD was trading unchanged at 0.7237 at around 04:30 GMT. The Australian dollar was unfazed after poor retail sales data released earlier on Friday.

Australia Retail Sales for July was revised down from -1.8% initial forecast to -2.8%, versus -2.3% expected second estimation figure.

AUD/USD is in a major downtrend and recovery attempts capped shy of 21-EMA which is offering stiff resistance at 0.7289.

Markets await the outcome at Jackson Hole Symposium for cues from the U.S. Federal Reserve on its tapering plans.

Focus also on Fed chair Jerome Powell speech, which could decide the direction of the pair's moves.

Sentiment sours amid rising Covid cases of the new Delta variant, tensions in Afghanistan and US-China tussle keeping the antipodeans under pressure. 

Technical bias is bearish as long as pair closes below 200-week MA. Scope for test of 38.2% Fib at 0.7051.