AUD/USD: Sideways price action above 0.79 extends into NA session

The AUD/USD pair remains directionless on the second day of the week as it moves sideways in a 30-pip channel. As of writing, the pair was trading at 0.7923, up 10 pips, or 0.13% on the day.

None of the data were able to affect the pair's price action on Tuesday. Earlier in the Asian session, the data from Australia showed that the National Australia Bank Business Confidence improved to 12 in July from 8 (revised from 9) in June. Later in the day, the NFIB Business Optimism Index in the U.S. rose to 105.2 from 103.6. Nevertheless, the pair failed to move out of its recent trading channel as the summer quietness continue to keep the investors on the sidelines. 

The RBA's Assistant Governor, Christopher Kent, will be delivering his remarks in the early trading hours of the Asian session on Wednesday. Moreover, the Faculty of Economics and Commerce Melbourne Institute will release the Westpac Consumer Confidence survey results for August ahead of the Home Loans data. In June, the number of home loans in Australia is expected to increase by 1.5% after rising 1% in May. A higher-than-expected reading could help the pair gather bullish momentum as it would point to a healthier real estate market, which has been a concern for the RBA since the start of the year.

Technical outlook

0.80 (psychological level) remains as a critical resistance ahead of 0.8065 (Jul. 27 high) and 0.8160 (May 14, 2015, high). On the downside, supports could be seen at 0.7900 (Aug. 7 low), 0.7800 (psychological level) and 0.7750 (50-DMA).