AUD/USD extends sideways grind above 0.7350 as trading conditions remain thin

• AUD/USD is moving up and down in a very narrow range.
• US Dollar Index posts modest gains above 92.00 on Thursday.
• Trading action is likely to remain subdued in the remainder of the day.

The AUD/USD pair closed the previous day virtually unchanged and continues to have a difficult time finding direction on Thursday. As of writing, the pair was flat on the day at 0.7363.

DXY retraces Wednesday's drop in quiet day

On Wednesday, the data from the US showed that the trade deficit widened to $80.29 billion in October from $79.36 billion and the weekly Initial Jobless Claims climbed to 778,000 from 748,000 last week. On a positive note, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis left the third-quarter GDP growth unchanged at 33.1% in its second estimate and the Durable Goods Orders rose more than expected in October.

Although the greenback largely ignored these data releases, the FOMC Minutes in the late American session caused the US Dollar Index to drop below 92.00. The publication revealed that policymakers didn't see the need to adjust the pace or the composition of asset purchases. However, policymakers further noted that the Fed could provide more stimulus by shifting to longer maturities or increasing the pace of purchases.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) dropped to its lowest level since early September at 91.84 during the Asian trading hours but staged a rebound on Thursday. As of writing, the DXY was was up 0.15% on the day at 92.13.

There won't be any significant macroeconomic data releases in the remainder of the week and the pair is likely to continue to fluctuate in its range with the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the US causing trading volumes to thin out. 

Technical levels to watch for