AUD/USD tumbles to fresh weekly lows, below mid-0.7800s

   •  USD gains some fresh traction during the early NA session.
   •  US bond yields/weaker commodities add to the selling pressure.

The AUD/USD pair continued losing ground through the early NA session and dropped to fresh weekly lows post-US economic releases.

The pair extended its overnight retracement slide from 3-week tops and was being further weighed down by a goodish pickup in the USD demand. In fact, the key US Dollar Index built on its recovery move from session lows, near the 89.65-60 region, and gained some additional traction following the release of a slightly better-than-expected Empire State Manufacturing Index. 

This coupled with a modest rebound in the US Treasury bond yields added to the downward pressure surrounding higher-yielding currencies - like the Aussie. The latest leg of downfall could also be attributed to a weaker tone around commodity-space, especially copper, which tends to dent demand for commodity-linked Australian Dollar.

It would now be interesting to see if the pair is able to catch any bids at lower levels or a fresh wave of long-unwinding trade continues dragging the pair ahead of the RBA Assistant Governor Guy Debelle's scheduled speech during the early Asian session on Friday.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is pegged near 100-day SMA, around the 0.7820 region, and is followed by the very important 200-day SMA support near the 0.7800 handle. On the upside, 0.7855-60 area now seems to act as an immediate resistance, above which the pair is likely to make a fresh attempt towards conquering the 0.7900 handle.