AUD/USD fails to build on Thursday's gains, retreats below 0.7750

• AUD/USD declines toward lower limit of weekly range.
• US Dollar Index rebounds after closing in the red on Thursday.
• Markets await mid-tier macroeconomic data releases from US.

The AUD/USD pair gained more than 40 pips on Thursday as the greenback struggled to find demand during FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell's speech on the economy and policy outlook. However, the risk-off market environment on Friday made it difficult for the pair to push higher and AUD/USD was last seen losing 0.46% at 0.7741.

DXY reverses course on Friday

While speaking at an online event, Powell repeated that they were not even going to think about raising rates any time soon and noted that they would let markets know well in advance when they start considering tapering of asset purchases. The US Dollar Index (DXY) dropped toward 90.00 in the late American session and closed in the negative territory.

On Friday, the market mood seems to have soured ahead of key macroeconomic data releases. At the moment, the S&P 500 Futures are down 0.45% on the day and the DXY is up 0.18% at 90.40.

Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden unveiled his $1.9 trillion coronavirus recovery plan on Thursday but this announcement failed to trigger a significant market reaction due to the fact that investors had already priced it in. 

Later in the day, December Retail Sales and Industrial Production figures from the US will be watched closely by market participants. Furthermore, the University of Michigan will publish its preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index data for January. 

Technical levels to watch for