AUD/USD looking for 0.6600 but bullish momentum capped by 200-day moving average

• The Aussie is trading on the firm side against the US Dollar on Thursday, grabbing 0.6560.
• Declining Australian PMIs are hampering upside momentum as technical indicators weigh.
• US markets dark for the Thanksgiving holiday, due back on Friday with US PMIs.

The AUD/USD is seeing a slight lift on Thursday, with the Aussie (AUD) up three-tenths of a percent against the US Dollar (USD) which is seeing some backpedaling with US markets out for the day as the US celebrates Thanskgiving.

US money markets are due back to close out the trading week with a limited trading schedule on Friday, and Greenback traders will be keeping a close eye on the US’ Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures due in the latter half of the day.

Australia's Judo Bank Composite PMI for November declines to 46.4 vs. October's 47.6

Early Thursday saw Australia’s latest Judo Bank PMI figures broadly miss the mark in November, with the headline composite figure hitting a 27-month low as Australia’s economy continues to wobble with declining demand and still-high inflation depressing consumers’ confidence both in the broader economy and their capacity to consume.

Australia’s Services PMI slid to 46.3 in November compared to October’s print of 47.9, while the Manufacturing component hit an eye-watering 42-month low at 47.7, slipping even further back from the previous month’s 48.2.

Friday will see a contracted return of US money markets to close out the trading week, and investors are betting on a slight decline in US PMI numbers.

The US Manufacturing PMI for November is forecast to decline from October’s flat 50.0 into contraction territory at 49.8, while the Services component is expected to tick lower from 50.6 to 50.4.

AUD/USD Technical Outlook

The AUD/USD has seen constraining chart play at the 50-hour Simple Moving Average (SMA) for the midweek trading window after tapping a high of 0.6590. Wednesday saw an intraday low near 0.6520, but the pair remains up on the week despite back-and-forth churn in the hourly candlesticks.

The AUD/USD is seeing some consolidation on the daily candlesticks as the pair grapples with etching in new highs, and the pair is currently lidded by the 200-day SMA just below the 0.6600 handle.

The Aussie is still up over 4.6% against the Greenback from October’s low of 0.6270, and AUD/USD bids could see some sideways grind with the pair caught in the dead zone between the 200-day SMA and the 50-day SMA, at 0.6586 and 0.6406 respectively.

AUD/USD Hourly Chart

AUD/USD Daily Chart