AUD/USD pares majority of daily gains ahead of 10-year US note auction, stays above 0.7700

• AUD/USD lost its traction after climbing to 0.7750 area.
• US Dollar Index posts small daily gains around 92.00.
• Investors await 10-year US note auction at 1800 GMT.

The AUD/USD pair advanced to a daily high of 0.7746 in the early trading hours of the American session but struggled to preserve its bullish momentum. With the greenback finding some demand, the pair erased a large portion of its daily gains and was last seen trading modestly higher on the day at 0.7715.

Focus shifts to US 10-year note auction

Earlier in the day, the data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) in February edged lower to 1.3% and missed the market expectation of 1.4%. This reading failed to trigger a market reaction but the positive start seen in Wall Street’s main indexes caused the greenback to start losing strength against its rivals.  

On the other hand,  Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) Governor Phillip Lowe’s dovish comments are also  keeping AUD/USD’s upside limited. Lowe said that the RBA is considering extending the bond purchase programme.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) dropped below 92.00 in the early American session but didn’t have a difficult time limiting its losses with investors moving to the sidelines ahead of the 10-year US note auction at 1800 GMT. At the moment, the DXY is in the positive territory at 92.02. Meanwhile, the 10-year US T-bond yield is virtually unchanged at 1.523%.

In the early trading hours of the Asian session on Thursday, the Consumer Inflation Expectations data from Australia will be looked upon for fresh impetus.  

Technical levels to consider