AUD/USD struggles for a firm direction, holds steady above 0.6600 mark

• AUD/USD seemed struggling to build on its recent bounce from 11-year lows.
• The Australian trade balance data did little to provide any meaningful impetus.
• Rebounding US bond yields underpinned the USD and seemed to cap gains.

The AUD/USD pair seemed struggling to gain any meaningful traction, albeit has managed to hold its neck comfortably above the 0.6600 round-figure mark.

The pair quickly reversed an early Asian session dip to the 0.6610 region following the release of upbeat Australian trade data, showing a surplus of A$ 5.21 billion as against consensus estimates pointing to a reading of A$ 4.8 billion.

Bulls seemed reluctant

However, the report indicated a drop of 3% in both exports and imports, which coupled with worries over the impact of the deadly coronavirus outbreak on the global economy kept a lid on any runaway rally for the Australian dollar.

On the other hand, the US dollar managed to preserve the overnight goodish recovery gains and was further supported by a goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields, which further collaborated towards capping gains for the major.

The pair remained below Tuesday's swing high, or near two-week tops set in the aftermath of the Fed's surprise move to cut interest rates by 50bps, making it prudent to wait for some strong follow-through buying before placing fresh bullish bets.

Technical levels to watch