AUD/USD retreats farther below 0.7700 handle, US data eyed

   •  Weighed down by rising US-China trade tensions.
   •  Bearish copper prices add to the downward pressure.
   •  US ADP report and ISM PMI eyed for fresh impetus.

Having failed to sustain above the 0.7700 handle, the AUD/USD pair met with some fresh supply and dropped to fresh session low in the last hour.

Against the backdrop of today's weaker Chinese PMI print, a fresh wave of global risk-aversion trade, triggered by escalating US-China trade tensions, boosted the US Dollar's safe-haven appeal and was seen weighing on the China-proxy Australian Dollar. 

This coupled with a sharp fall in copper prices undermined demand for the commodity-linked Australian Dollar and further collaborated to the pair's sharp drop of over 50-pips from intraday highs. 

The selling pressure now seems to have abated a bit, with the pair quickly bouncing back to 0.7675 level as traders now look forward to the US macro data for some fresh impetus.

Today's US economic docket features the release of ADP report on private sector employment, which is seen as a precursor of Friday's official jobs report (NFP), and ISM non-manufacturing PMI for March.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is pegged near the 0.7660-50 region, below which the pair is likely to accelerate the slide towards 0.7625 intermediate support en-route the 0.7600 handle. On the flip side, the 0.7700 handle might continue to act as an immediate strong hurdle, which if conquered might trigger a short-covering bounce towards 0.7745-50 supply zone.