AUD/USD Price Analysis: Remains on a defensive around 0.6660 area

• AUD/USD remains on a defensive around the 0.6660 area on Friday, losing 0.61% on the day.
• The initial support level appears to be 0.6625; the key support level is located at 0.6700.
• The Relative Strength Index (RSI) lines up in an oversold condition; MACD stands in the bearish territory.

The AUD/USD pair remains under pressure and trades on a defensive note around the 0.6660 mark during the Asian session on Friday. The prevalent US Dollar buying bias following the upbeat US economic data released supports the US Dollar and exerts pressure on AUD/USD. The major pair currently trades around 0.6665, losing 0.61% for the day. 

The encouraging second-quarter US GDP growth, solid Durable Goods, and consistently tight labor market conditions suggest that the Federal Reserve (Fed) may decide to hike interest rates further. The US real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose at a 2.4% annualized rate in the second quarter, above the market estimate of 1.8% by a wide margin and following the 2% growth recorded in the first quarter.

From a technical perspective, AUD/USD holds below the 50- and 100-hour Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) on the one-hour chart, which means further downside looks favorable.

That said, any intraday pullback below 0.6625 (Low of July 10) would expose the critical support level of the 0.6600 area, representing a psychological round mark and a low of July 6. Further south, the next stop of the AUD/USD is located at 0.6565 (Low of June 1) and finally at 0.6500 (a psychological round figure).

Looking at the upside, some follow-through buying towards a psychological round mark and a low of July 27, around 0.6700, will see a rally to the next barrier at 0.6740. The mentioned level highlights the confluence of a low on July 26 and the 50-hour EMA. Following that, AUD/USD has room to test the additional upside filter at 0.6755 (100-hour EMA) and 0.6795–0.6800 (a psychological mark, a high of July 25).

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) lines in the oversold condition and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) stands in the bearish territory, challenging the pair’s immediate downside for the time being.

AUD/USD one-hour chart