AUD/USD eases from tops, but manages to hold above 0.79 handle

   •  Continues to find some dip buying below 0.79 mark.
   •  Rising US bond yields/follow-through USD demand capping gains.
   •  Focus remains on Wednesday’s FOMC meeting minutes.

The AUD/USD pair lacked any firm directional bias and seesawed between tepid gains/minor losses around the 0.7900 handle. 

The pair once again managed to find some buying interest near the 0.7890 region and showed some strength after neutral RBA meeting minutes. Further gains, however, remained capped near the 0.7935 area amid a strong follow-through greenback buying interest. 

The recent US Dollar recovery move got an additional boost from rising US Treasury bond yields, which was eventually seen keeping a lid on any additional gains for higher-yielding currencies - like the Aussie. 

Adding to this, heavy selling pressure surrounding copper prices was also seen denting demand for the commodity-linked Australian Dollar and contributed to the pair's retracement of around 20-pips from session tops. 

In absence of any major market moving economic releases, the pair remains at the mercy of the USD/US bond yield dynamics as the focus remains on Wednesday's FOMC meeting minutes. 

Technical levels to watch

Bears would be eyeing for a clear breakthrough 0.7890 immediate support, below which the pair is likely to accelerate the fall towards 0.7860-55 intermediate support en-route 100-day SMA support near the 0.7825-20 region. 

On the upside, 0.7935 level now seems to have emerged as an immediate barrier, which if cleared decisively could assist the pair to make a fresh attempt towards conquering the key 0.80 psychological mark.