AUD/USD consolidates post-RBA slump, around 0.76 handle

The AUD/USD pair now seems to have entered a bearish consolidation phase and oscillated within a 20-pips narrow trading range around the 0.7600 handle.

The Australian Dollar came under intense selling pressure on Tuesday following RBA's neutral monetary policy stance, which disappointed market participants expecting the central bank to shift to more hawkish rhetoric. Moreover, repetition of the phrase that rising A$ would complicate the process of economic adjustment further prompted long-unwinding trade and aggravated the selling pressure around the major.

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Following the announcement, the pair tumbled nearly 100-pips from upbeat Australian retail sales data-led up-tick to session tops near 0.7685 region. The selling pressure now seems to have abated, at least for the time being, amid lighter trading conditions in wake of the Independence Day holiday in the US. 

Investors now shift their focus to this week's important releases - FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday and the keenly watched US monthly jobs data on Friday, which would help determine the next leg of directional move for the major.

Technical levels to watch

Below the 0.7600 handle, the pair is likely to find support near 0.7585 horizontal level, which if broken would turn the pair vulnerable to head back towards retesting the very important 200-day SMA support near 0.7535-30 region.

On the upside, any recovery attempts might now face some fresh supply near 0.7630-35 area, above which a fresh bout of short-covering could lift the pair back towards 0.7680-85 resistance en-route the 0.7700 handle.