AUD/USD stuck near 0.7050 as shortside pressures mount

• The Aussie sees a quiet start to the week after last week's steady declines.
• China data to be the AUD's big mover this week with a lean Aussie calendar.

The AUD/USD opens the new trading week close to the 0.7050 zone, testing near last week's lows for the pair as the Aussie plumbs into new lows for 2018.

The Aussie's bearish trajectory has accelerated recently as the US Dollar continues to be bolstered by risk-off market sentiment and rising US Treasury bonds, and the AUD/USD major pair has closed flat or down for six straight trading days.

Monday will be a quiet affair for AUD traders, with little meaningful data on the economic calendar, and the early trading session will be missing some normal trading volume with Japanese markets dark for a long weekend.

China's Caixin PMI will be dropping early in the day at 01:45 GMT, expected to hold steady at 53.5%, and Aussie markets could see some knock-on volatility if China's PMI misses expectations.

AUD/USD levels to watch

Technical levels leave the AUD/USD hung out to dry, according to FXStreet's own Valeria Bednarik: "the AUD/USD pair is oversold according to the daily chart, but there are no technical signs of a possible change in the dominant bearish trend, as the price has settled far below strongly bearish moving averages, while the Momentum indicator heads south almost vertically and the RSI hovers around 29. Shorter term, and according to the 4 hours chart, technical readings also favor a downward extension, as the pair settled below a strongly bearish 20 SMA, as technical indicators hold directionless within extreme oversold territory. As long as the pair holds below the 0.7100 region, the risk of a steeper decline remains high."

Support levels: 0.7040 0.7000 0.6965

Resistance levels: 0.0.7070 0.7105 0.7150