AUD/USD extends slide to mid-0.7100s after US data

• AUD/USD came under renewed bearish pressure in American session.
• Upbeat PMI data from US helped the DXY push higher.
• AUD/USD remains on track to post small weekly losses.

After spending the first half of the day in a relatively tight range around 0.7200, the AUD/USD pair edged lower during the American session and touched a daily low of 0.7139. As of writing, the pair was down 0.5% on the day at 0.7152. Unless the pair rebounds above 0.7172, it will close the week in the negative territory.

USD looks to finish the week on a strong footing

The broad-based buying pressure surrounding the greenback on Friday seems to have become the main market theme. The data published by the IHS Markit showed that the business activity in both the service and the manufacturing sector expanded at a strong pace in August and helped the USD gather strength in the last hours.

With the Markit Manufacturing PMI and the Services PMI rising to 53.6 and 54.8, respectively, in August's preliminary reading, the US Dollar Index (DXY) climbed to a fresh weekly high of 93.47. Additionally, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Friday that Existing Home Sales in the US surged by 24.7% in July. Although the DXY retreated modestly in the last hour, it's still up 0.65% on the day at 93.35 and remains on track to snap its eight-week losing streak. 

Earlier in the day, the data from Australia showed that the economic activity in the private sector contracted in August with the Commonwealth Bank Composite PMI dropping below 50. On a positive note, the Australian Bureau of Statistics' publication revealed that Retail Sales in July rose by 3.3% following June's increase of 2.7%.  

Technical levels to watch for