AUD/USD drops to over 2-week lows, around mid-0.7300s

   “¢   USD continues gaining traction following Powell’s upbeat comments.
   “¢   Subdued copper prices do little to lend any support and stall the downfall.

The Aussie remained on the back-foot against its American counterpart, with the AUD/USD pair weakening farther below the 0.7400 handle to over two-week lows.  

The pair extended this week’s retracement slide from the 0.7440 supply zone and was further weighed down by a broadly stronger US Dollar, which gained additional traction from the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s upbeat outlook for the US economy.

Powell’s comments, during the semiannual congressional testimony, suggested that lingering trade tensions will not prevent the Fed from raising interest rates and provided a strong boost to the greenback.  

Meanwhile, a consolidative price action around copper prices did little to lend any support to the commodity-linked Australian Dollar and stall the pair’s ongoing slide to mid-0.7300s, the lowest level since July 3.  

Moving ahead, today’s US housing market data will now be looked upon for some trading impetus ahead of Powell’s second round of testimony before the House Financial Services Committee.  

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is pegged near the 0.7335 horizontal level, below which the pair is likely to accelerate the fall back towards challenging the 0.7300 handle. On the flip side, the 0.7380 level now seems to act as an immediate resistance, which if cleared might lift the pair, back above the 0.7400 handle, towards retesting the 0.7440 supply zone.