AUD/USD hovering around 0.8000, near January highs

• AUD/USD sticks to 0.8000. 
• US dollar steady despite the agreement to end US government shutdown. 

The AUD/USD pair is about to end the day with modest gains. It peaked at the beginning of the US session at 0.8026 and then pulled back toward 0.8000 after US lawmakers reached an agreement to end the US government shutdown. 

During the last hours, AUD/USD has been steady, consolidating around 0.8000. The pair remains near January highs, holding a bullish tone. It is unable to move away from the 0.8000 area, neither to the upside nor the downside. 

Last week, the Aussie was the top performer among majors supported by Australian economic data, particularly the jobs report that surpassed expectations. No relevant economic reports from Australia are due the current week. The next key data will be Q4 inflation on January 31st. In the US political developments appear to be the main driver. On Friday, the first estimate of Q4 GDP will be released. 

The upside in AUD/USD continues to be supported by risk appetite and a weak US dollar. The Dollar Index is practically unchanged today but holds near the lowest level in three years. At the moment, no strength is seen in the greenback for a sustainable recovery. 

Technical outlook 

 The pair retains its bullish technical stance despite falling to advance to fresh highs beyond 0.8040, given that in the 4 hours chart, the price continues developing above a bullish 20 SMA, and far above the 61.8% retracement of its September/December slump at 0.7885, point out Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXStreet. 

“The rally should resume of an upward acceleration through 0.8045,  with scope then to advance up to 0.8124, September monthly high”, says Bednarik.