• A risk-on impulse favored risk-perceived currencies like the Australian Dollar.
• The US housing market continues to deteriorate, as shown by Existing Home Sales plunging.
• Fed officials favor a deceleration of rate hikes, though the higher-for-longer stance remains unchanged.

The AUD/USD edged higher in the mid-North American session on Friday, following a soft employment report from Australia that spurred a fall beneath 0.6900. Friday, the story is different, with the AUD/USD recovering some ground while the US Dollar (USD) is pairing its earlier gains. At the time of writing, the AUD/USD is trading at 0.69600, above its opening price by 0.74%.

AUD/USD climbed, underpinned by investors upbeat mood, soft USD

Wall Street continues to portray investors’ positive mood. Data from the United States (US) flashes deterioration, as Existing Home Sales for December plunged 1.5%, its lowest level since November 2010, according to the National Association of Realtors.

“December was another difficult month for buyers, who continue to face limited inventory and high mortgage rates,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “However, expect sales to pick up again soon since mortgage rates have markedly declined after peaking late last year.”

Meanwhile, a retracement in the US Dollar Index, which tracks the buck’s performance against its peers, prints minimal gains of 0.06%, at 102.123, after hitting a daily high of 102.552. Contrarily, US Treasury yields advance, with the 10-year benchmark note rate up nine bps, at 3.488%.

In the meantime, a couple of Fed officials crossed newswires. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, opened the door for a downshift in interest rate increases, saying, “Hikes of 25 basis points will be appropriate going forward.” He expects the US economy to grow by 1% and the unemployment rate to jump to 4.5% from 3.5%. Later, KansasCiti Fed President Esther George said that the Federal Reserve must be “patient” to see if inflation in the services sector is waning.