AUD/JPY struggles to extend gains on upbeat Aussie retail sales data

• Australia's preliminary retail sales data for March shows a big rise in consumer spending. 
• So far, the data has failed to bolster bullish pressures around AUD/JPY.
• The anti-risk broader market sentiment is likely capping upside in the Aussie pairs.

The mildly bid AUD/JPY pair is finding it hard to keep the upward move going despite the upbeat Aussie retail sales data released at 01:30 GMT. 

The currency pair rose from 67.60 to 67.82 ahead of the retail sales and printed a high of 67.91 following the release of the key data only to fall back to 67.80.

The preliminary data for March showed consumer spending in Australia, as represented by retail sales, rose 8.2% month-on-month, following February's 0.5% rise.

Australia usually publishes a single retail sales for each month with a time a lag of at least five weeks. For instance, the final retail sales print for March is scheduled for release on May 6, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

This time, however, the ABS has released preliminary data to help give a better picture of how the economy is performing during the coronavirus-led crisis. 

So far, the upbeat preliminary estimate has failed to put a strong bid under the Aussie, possibly because the final figure due next month could carry a significant downward revision. 

Also, with oil taking a beating on oversupply concerns, the broader market sentiment is currently not favorable for growth-linked currencies like the AUD. The S&P 500 futures are currently trading largely unchanged on the day, having dropped over 2.5% on Tuesday. 

Technical levels