AUD/JPY back into 83.50 ahead of China's Trade Balance release

• Aussie falls on disappointing Trade Balance figures, eyes turn to China trade numbers for bullish hopes.
• The pair's technical channel is continuing to control prices, punching in another rejection from resistance.

The AUD/JPY is trading near 83.60 after a bumpy Thursday session that took the pair off of recent highs after the Australian Trade Balance contracted more than expected.

Australian trade figures contracted on Thursday, dragging the Aussie down after a technical recovery from lows near the 81.00 handle, and the pair looks set to continue back towards the lower boundary of its current channel.

Friday brings Chinese Trade Balance figures, with the headline figure (in USD terms) expected at $31.9 billion, compared to the previous reading of #28.8 billion. With ongoing global trade tensions market participants will be paying extra attention to the Chinese trade figures, and a miss for the reading could send the Aussie further down.

AUD/JPY levels to watch

With the pair potentially punching in a turnaround from the last high near 84.50, traders could expect a continuation into support somewhere between 81.15 and 80.50, while a bullish break of the current channel could see bullish traders free to chase January's action far above near the 87.00 handle.