AUD/USD keeps the red below mid-0.7400s

The AUD/USD pair traded with negative bias through Asian session and eroded part of Friday's strong gains to two-week highs.

Currently trading around 0.7440 region, the pair is being weighed down by a modes US Dollar recovery, led by an up-tick in the US treasury bond yields. Market seems to have largely ignored the latest missile test by N. Korea, with an eventual Fed rate-hike action at its June meeting driving flows away from higher-yielding currencies - like the Aussie.

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Adding to this, a mild retracement in copper prices also did little to extend any support to the commodity-linked currencies, including the Australian Dollar, with the greenback price dynamics acting as an exclusive driver of the pair's movement at the start of a new trading week.

In absence of any major market moving economic releases, Fed rate hike expectations would continue to be a key determinant of the pair's movement on Monday as traders now look forward to speeches by Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, due later during the day.

Technical levels to watch

A follow through retracement below 0.7430 level could get extended back towards the 0.7400 handle, below which the pair is likely to head back towards 4-month daily closing lows support near 0.7340 region. On the upside, sustained up-move above 0.7455-60 area should assist the pair to build on recent recovery move further towards the key 0.75 psychological mark ahead of its next major hurdle near 0.7530-35 area.