AUD/USD trims early gains, retreats back below 0.7700 handle

The AUD/USD pair trimmed some of its early gains and retreated around 20-pips from session peak level beyond the 0.7700 handle.

Currently trading around 0.7690-95 band, the pair gained some traction during early Asian session on Monday from upbeat Australian corporate profits data in other wise a rather quiet session. However, a mildly negative trading sentiment surrounding around commodity space, especially copper, failed to extend additional support. Moreover, a modest rise in the US Treasury bond yields, and bearish equity markets, also collaborated towards restricting further upside for riskier, higher-yielding currencies - like the Aussie. 

Investors now await the US President Donald Trump's first address to Congress on Tuesday for additional details over the new administration’s expansive fiscal policies, which would determine the next leg of directional move for the major. In the meantime, today's macro releases - durable goods orders, pending home sales data, would be looked upon for short-term trading opportunities. 

Technical levels to watch

On the upside, 0.7715 level might continue to act as immediate resistance, which if cleared might trigger a short-covering rally towards 0.7735-40 resistance, en-route 0.7760-65 horizontal resistance. Alternatively, weakness below 0.7665-60 immediate support now seems to drag the pair towards 0.7710 strong support, below which the downslide is likely to get extended towards 0.7535-30 support area with some intermediate support near 0.7580 level.