The pair climbed to highs of 0.7999 after a beat in housing data earlier

The aussie got a little boost earlier in the day after housing data came in rather strong for the month of November last year. That gave an impetus for traders to send AUD/USD up to test the 0.8000 level - but the first instance has so far seen buyers fall short.

The dollar is making a bit of a recovery as we head into the twilight zone of trading, but it is likely that this range will stay here for today. There are bids reported to be sitting near 0.7950 (there is also a small-to-medium-ish option expiry there worth AUD 326m) and with sellers lurking at the psychological level of 0.8000 that should keep the pair range-bound.

I mentioned here two days ago that a test of the 0.8000 is inevitable, but this is where the trade gets tricky. As AUD/USD has been a monstrous run over the last month (only 5 down days out of 27, excluding today), is the 0.8000 level finally where the bulls take money off the table?

A lot of this will depend again on the upcoming data points. Tomorrow we're going to have Australia employment data - and that will be key. Recent data points from the land down under has spoiled us with upside surprises, so a downside surprise tomorrow will very much reaffirm that this could be the start of a broader move back to the downside.

But let's not forget, we also have the USD part of the equation to look at - so keep in mind that it takes two to tango.