AUD/USD sticks to recent trading range, weaker below 0.7700 handle

After yesterday's failed attempt to recover back above 0.7700 mark, the AUD/USD pair came under some renewed selling pressure on Thursday in wake of disappointing trade-balance data.

Currently trading around 0.7660-55 region, the pair ran through fresh offers following the release of weaker than expected trade-balance data for January. The Australian trade surplus dropped to A$1.3 billion, which was much below December’s A$3.33 billion (revised lower) and worse than expected. 

Despite of today's slide, the pair held within previous session's trading range and seems to have found some support from surprisingly stronger-than-expected Australian building approvals data. Moreover, a mildly positive trading sentiment surrounding commodity space, especially copper, also extended some support to commodity-linked currencies - like the Aussie.

Meanwhile, a strong bullish sentiment surrounding the greenback, with the key US Dollar Index hovering near seven-week tops amid growing expectations for an eventual Fed rate-hike action at its March meeting, might restrict any swift recovery and could even possibly trigger a fresh leg of near-term downslide for the major. 

Later during NA session, the release of initial weekly jobless claims, which seems unlikely to distort the greenback's well-established bullish trend, might be looked upon for some short-term trading impetus.

Technical levels to watch

Bulls would be disheartened if the pair fails to hold 0.7640 immediate support, below which the slide is likely to get extended immediately towards 0.7610 horizontal support before the pair eventually drops to 0.7580 support area. On the upside, momentum above 0.7670-75 immediate resistance could get extend, but might continue to confront strong resistance near 0.7700 round figure mark ahead of 0.7715 hurdle.`