Covid-19 Matters Front And Centre

AUD/USD has clawed back modest opening losses and last trades at $0.7185, barely changed on the day. Domestic headline flow remains dominated by Covid-19 developments, but there has been little to rock the boat on that front.

• Bears look for a fall through Jan 18 low of $0.7170 before taking aim at Jan 7 low of $0.7130. On the flip side, a jump above Jan 20 high of $0.7277 would expose Jan 13 high of $0.7314.
• The flash readings of Australia's Markit PMIs for this month showed that the services sector has plunged into contraction, while manufacturing continued to expand, albeit at a slower rate. The economy has been affected by the surge in Covid-19 cases, but "there have been some early positive signs of infections peaking," as per Markit commentary.
• Focus turns to Australian CPI & NAB Business Confidence (Tuesday), terms of trade (Thursday) & PPI (Friday).