AUD/USD is running higher in early...........>

AUSSIE: AUD/USD is running higher in early Asia-Pacific trade, last 20 pips

better off at $0.7160, benefitting from the BBG report in the NY/Asia crossover

which suggested that "President Donald Trump is increasingly eager to strike a

deal with China soon in an effort to perk up financial markets that have slumped

on concerns over the trade war, according to people familiar with internal White

House deliberations." Several WSJ headlines came out after U.S. & China

negotiators met for the second day straight summarising that talks were going

well and that they had narrowed differences on trade. The two sides are still

not ready to strike a deal, with talks continuing Wednesday (an extension).

- Bulls look to $0.7179, the 100-DMA, ahead of cloud base resistance & 76.4%

retracement level at $0.7207/40. Bears need a close below broken trendline

resistance-turned support at $0.6991 to regain control.

- Domestic focus falls on AU building approvals data, with eyes also on U.S.

Pres Trump's address re: border security and the general risk backdrop, ahead of

the release of the Dec FOMC meeting minutes Wednesday.