AUD/USD stays pressured towards 0.7350 with eyes on Xi-Biden talks

• AUD/USD remains depressed inside a choppy range around two-week top.
• Market sentiment turns sour amid mixed concerns over Russia-Ukraine.
• China headlines, cautious mood ahead of Xi-Biden call also challenge bulls.

AUD/USD snaps three-day rebound from a monthly low during Friday’s Asian session, recently sidelined near the intraday low of 0.7370.

In doing so, the Aussie pair portrays the market’s anxiety ahead of the key telephone call between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, over multiple issues including the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

Ahead of the meeting, China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that China and Russia met on March 17 to discuss security cooperation. It’s worth noting that Beijing previously denied the US allegations of readiness to help Moscow in the battle with Ukraine.

On a different page, Reuters mentioned that China reported 2,416 new confirmed coronavirus cases on March 17, the country's national health authority said on Friday, compared with 1,317 a day earlier.” It’s worth noting that the COVID-19 daily infections were easing in the last two days from the record top. On the contrary, reports of factory production restart in five districts of Shenzen keep buyers hopeful.

Elsewhere, Turkey is also trying to connect Russian President Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy but hasn’t got any confirmation. Adding to the risk-off mood are the fears of Russian default.

However, the continuation of the talks and upbeat Aussie jobs report, coupled with the softer USD due to the downbeat yields, put a floor under the AUD/USD prices.

Moving on, geopolitical updates will be crucial for the AUD/USD prices amid a light calendar ahead.

Technical analysis

Should the AUD/USD prices drop below the 0.7370 immediate range support, a downward trajectory towards the 200-DMA level near 0.7300 can’t be ruled out. Alternatively, an ascending trend line from January 13, close to the 0.7400 threshold by the press time, challenges the pair’s upside moves.