AUD/USD remains confined in a range, below 0.81 handle ahead of US data

The AUD/USD pair continued with its struggled to break through the 0.8100 handle and extended its range-bound trading action through the early NA session. 

Having posted eight consecutive weeks of gains, the pair now seems to have entered a bullish consolidation phase at the start of a new trading week. A goodish pickup in the US Dollar demand, backed by a strong follow-through upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields was seen capping any additional gains for higher-yielding currencies - like the Aussie. 

Meanwhile, a mildly positive trading sentiment around commodity space, especially copper, was seen underpinning demand for the commodity-linked Australian Dollar and might continue to contribute towards limiting any deeper corrective slide, at least for the time being.

Traders now look forward to the US economic releases - Core PCE Price Index and personal spending/income data, in order to grab some short-term trading opportunities.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is pegged near the 0.8065-60 region, below which the pair is likely to accelerate the fall back towards testing the key 0.80 psychological mark with some intermediate support near 0.8020 level.

On the upside, sustained momentum back above the 0.8100 handle could lift the pair back towards last week's 2-1/2 year lows, and a subsequent up-move should pave the way for an extension of the pair's bullish trajectory.