AUD/USD: Sellers keep lurking around 0.7130 ahead of Australian housing finance data

• Buyers again fail to conquer 0.7130 amid early-day pullback ahead of Australian data.
• 0.7100 and 0.7090 to gain sellers’ attention if the housing market weakness persists.

The AUD/USD pair is struggling near 0.7120 during early Tuesday. The pair presently witnesses pullback after registering another failure to surpass 0.7130 upside barrier during its rise on Monday. February month housing finance data for Australia will be in the immediate focus of the Aussie traders while developments surrounding commodity basket and the US data could entertain markets afterward.

Commodity-linked currencies like Australian Dollar (AUD) rose yesterday on multiple factors ranging from crude’s upside to the US Dollar (USD) weakness, not to forget positive news surrounding the US-China trade deal and China’s favor for further stimulus.

However, the quote couldn’t surpass 0.7130 resistance level that has been restricting the pair’s upside since the month-start.

Prices witnessed pullback during early Tuesday ahead of the Australian housing finance data which disappointed Aussie buyers during their previous release. Investors also focus the latest International Monetary Fund Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) that cites housing market risks in key economies including the US, Canada, Australia and China.

The forecasts for 01:30 GMT release suggest a -2.0% contraction in the home loans versus -2.6% prior. It should also be noted that investment lending for homes slipped -2.4% during its January month release.

Analysts at ANZ say, “We are looking for the first monthly gain in the number of housing commitments for owner-occupied purchasers since October 2018 and only the third such gain over the past year. Investor lending has been down for six months in a row and fell a sharp 4.1% m/m in January. Another decline seems likely, though we expect a smaller fall than last month.”

The US JOLTS job openings for February month could entertain traders past-Australian release. The employment indicator may soften to 7.550M against 7.581M earlier.

AUD/USD Technical Analysis

Multiple failures to surpass 0.7130 highlights brighter chances of the pair’s rally to 0.7145/50 resistance-confluence including 100-day simple moving average (SMA) and seven-week-old descending trend-line post-breakout. In case buyers dominate beyond 0.7150, 0.7170 and 200-day SMA level of 0.7200 could flash on their radar.

50-day SMA level around 0.7115 and 0.7100 round-figure could please short-term sellers, a break of which can recall 0.7090 and 0.7050 on the chart.