AUD/USD: Buyers and sellers jostle around 0.6800 with a few catalysts on the radar

• AUD/USD clings to 0.6790 amid a lack of major drivers.
• Recent trade pessimism confronts geopolitical news concerning the Middle East.
• Trade/political headlines will be the key to watch for fresh impulse.

Chopped between a few headlines, the AUD/USD pair modestly changes to 0.6790 during Friday morning in Asia.

Recent sentiment surrounding the US-China trade deal has been mixed amid the US visit of a delegation of 30 Chinese officials led by Vice Finance Minister Liao Min. While White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and President Donald Trump’s adviser on China Michael Pillsbury seem less optimistic, the US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue occupied the other extreme while spotting the Chinese officials’ readiness to visit the US farms. On the other hand, Chinese media also remained firm while saying that China is not anxious in reaching a deal with the US.

Elsewhere, news that Kuwait’s Foreign Minister discussed ways to de-escalate regional tension with Iranian counterpart seems to tame recent fears of Kuwait-Iran war after the former alerted forces at the start of the week.

The Aussie pair dropped to a two-week low on Thursday after the headline Unemployment Rate increased to 5.3% versus 5.2% prior, giving clearance to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) dovish appearance in the next meeting.

The recovery in the risk tone fails to lend support to the AUD/USD pair as mixed trade headlines and an absence of positive drivers at home take the charge.

Investors have no major data to follow on the economic calendar, which in turn keep pushing them towards trade/political headlines to search for fresh clues.

Technical Analysis

Unless successfully trading beyond 21-day simple moving average (SMA) level of 0.6805, which could push buyers towards 0.6850 and 0.6900, prices are less likely to avoid visiting month-start high near 0.6740.