Aussie slips after retail sales, trade balance data

Earlier, the Australian trade balance for November decreased slightly to 9,423 million AUD, from 10,781 million AUD previously, with exports climbing to 2% from -3%, while imports rose from -2% to 6%.

Additionally, domestic retail sales rose sharply in November, printing 7.3% month-on-month, well above the 3.9% expected and 4.9% last number.

Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify on the renomination to chair the Federal Reserve Board of Governors before Senate Banking Committee in Washington DC. His comments regarding monetary policy will be closely watched as the Fed has turned notably more hawkish than previously anticipated.

The daily chart seems a bit neutral, as the Aussie has failed to hold above October lows of 0.7170, with the MACD indicator already sending a bearish signal. 

The following support for the pair will be in the 0.71 area before the current cycle lows at 0.70.

Alternatively, the resistance could be spotted near the 50-day moving average (the purple line) at 0.7220. Once the Aussie jumps above it, the medium-term trend could change to bullish.