AUD/USD extends post-RBA rejection slide from 0.7700 handle

   •  Status quo RBA fails to lift above 200-DMA. 
   •  A modest pickup in the US bond yields prompts fresh selling. 

The AUD/USD pair faced rejection at the 0.7700 handle and turned sharply lower, eroding part of previous session's strong recovery gains. 

The pair initially had a rather muted reaction to the RBA decision to leave interest rates unchanged at record low level of 1.5%, as had been widely expected. In the accompanying rate statement, the central bank refrained from sounding more dovish despite recent disappointing inflation data. 

   •  Neutral RBA to sit tight until 2018 - TDS

Meanwhile, a modest pickup in the US Treasury bond yields helped the US Dollar to regain some positive traction and eventually attracted some fresh selling pressure around higher-yielding currencies - like the Aussie.

Adding to this, a mildly weaker tone around commodity space, especially copper, also undermined the commodity-linked Australian Dollar and further collaborated to the pair's retracement to 0.7665 level or fresh session low. 

With a relatively thin US economic docket, featuring the release of JOLTS Job Openings data, the US bond yield dynamics would continue to act as an exclusive driver of the pair's movement on Tuesday.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate strong support remains near the 0.7650-40 region, which if broken might turn the pair vulnerable to break below the 0.7600 handle and test its next support near 0.7580-75 zone.

On the upside, the 0.7700 handle (200-day SMA) remains a key hurdle, which if cleared decisively could assist the pair to surpass 0.7725 intermediate hurdle and head towards testing next resistance near mid-0.7700s.