AUD/USD struggles below 0.7100 handle, hangs near 2-week lows

   “¢   RBA’s neutral stance fails to provide any meaningful boost to the Aussie.
   “¢   Dismal Chinese services PMI/a modest USD uptick add to the selling bias.
   “¢   Traders eye US data for some impetus ahead of Aussie GDP on Wednesday.

The AUD/USD pair struggled to register any meaningful recovery and remained within striking distance of three-week lows, set earlier today.

The pair failed to capitalize on an early uptick to the 0.7100 neighbourhood and remained under some selling pressure for the fourth session in the previous five, albeit managed to find some support after the latest RBA monetary policy update.  

As was widely expected, the Australian central bank, at Tuesday’s March board meeting, left the official cash rate unchanged at a record low level of 1.5% but acknowledged that the economic growth may have slowed in the second half of 2018.

The central bank’s neutral stance on rates comes ahead of Wednesday’s important release of quarterly GDP growth figures, holding investors back from placing any aggressive bets and leading to the pair’s subdued/range-bound price-action.

Meanwhile, the US Dollar remains  supported by the recent uptick in the US Treasury bond yields, which coupled with today’s weaker than expected Chinese services PMI print turned out to be one of the key factors exerting some downward pressure on the China-proxy Australian Dollar.

Moving ahead, today’s US economic docket, highlighting the release of ISM non-manufacturing PMI, will now be looked upon for some short-term trading opportunities. The key focus, however, will be on this week’s other important macro data, which might help determine the pair’s next leg of a directional move.

Technical levels to watch