AUD/USD prints fresh lows around 0.7770 as the US dollar gains momentum

• US dollar rises across the board amid higher US yields.
• AUD/USD trims Tuesday’s gains, bearish pressure mounts.

The AUD/USD pair dropped further and printed a fresh daily low at 0.7769 amid a stronger US dollar across the board. The driver of the last leg higher were US yields.

Economic data from the US came in below expectations. The ADP report showed an increase in employment of 117K in February below the 177K of market consensus. The ISM Service sector data surprised to the downside with the main index falling from 58.7 to 55.3; the price index jumped from 64.2 to 71.8. The numbers were mostly ignored by market participants. 

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones is falling 0.08% and the Nasdaq by more than 1%. Both indices traded mostly positive in the futures market prior to the opening. The reversal weighed on AUD/USD. Also, metals turned sharply to the downside.

From a technical perspective, the recovery of AUD/USD has run into resistance at 0.7835/40. Price is testing a short-term uptrend line around 0.7770/75, and a break lower should point to more losses. The next support is seen at 0.7730 and then at 0.7705.

Technical levels