AUD/USD struggling below 0.7400 mark

Having dropped to three-week through near 0.7360 region, the AUD/USD pair has managed to bounce off lows but remained below 0.7400 handle amid broad based greenback strength.

Currently trading around 0.7375-80 band, the pair came under renewed selling pressure on Thursday and was seen building on yesterday's sharp slide (after the FOMC announcement) from the vicinity of the very important 200-day SMA. The pair even shrugged-off upbeat Australian jobs report, which assisted the pair to stage a minor recovery to session high level of 0.7430 during early Asian session.

Hawkish Fed outlook helped the greenback to surge across the board, with the overall US Dollar Index hitting 14-year highs, and has been the key factor weighing on higher-yielding currencies - like the Aussie.

Moreover, Thursday's US economic data - CPI print, regional manufacturing indices and weekly jobless claims, further supported the prevalent strong bullish sentiment surrounding the greenback and is restricting any recovery for the major. 

Technical levels to watch

A follow through selling pressure below session low support near 0.7365-60 region is likely to accelerate the slide towards 0.7330-25 horizontal support below which the pair seems all set to test 0.7300 round figure mark. On the upside, recovery above 0.7385 level is likely to confront resistance near 0.7400 handle, which if cleared might trigger a short-covering bounce towards 0.7445-50 strong horizontal resistance.