AUD/USD regains big, attacks 100-DMA hurdle

• AUD/USD defends 0.78 handle, partly due to an uptick in the AUD/NZD cross
• A break in the US 10-yr treasury yield above 2.4% could yield USD rally

Having successfully defended the 0.78 handle during the overnight trade, AUD/USD bulls pushed the spot higher towards its 100-day moving average level of 0.7826.

Boosted by AUD/NZD buying?

The AUD/USD could have been boosted by a spike in the AUD/NZD pair following NZ PM Ardern's comments that the new government will review the RBNZ act.

Currently, the spot is trading at  0.7820; having set a high of 0.7825 and low of 0.7805 levels. Despite the bid tone, the Aussie dollar is struggling to hold above the downward sloping 1-hour 50-MA currently seen at 0.7820 levels.

Looking ahead - The focus remains on the US 10-year yield spread ahead of tomorrow's Aussie CPI release. A break above 2.4% in the US 10-year yield could push AUD/USD well below 0.78 handle.

AUD/USD Technical Levels

FXStreet Chief Analyst Valeria Bednarik writes, "There are no news scheduled for Australia this Tuesday, with the main event of the week for the commodity-related currency being quarterly inflation figures, to be released next Wednesday. The short-term picture is bearish for the pair, as in the 4 hours chart, the price extends below a bearish 20 SMA and below the 23.9& retracement of the September/October slide at 0.7820, now the immediate resistance. Technical indicators in the mentioned chart maintain strong bearish slopes, now nearing oversold readings, supporting a downward extension on a break below the mentioned daily low."