AUD/USD flat-lined below 0.7200 handle

   •  Renewed US-China trade optimism prompted some short-covering on Thursday.
   •  The uptick seemed to lack any strong follow-through amid a modest USD strength.

The AUD/USD pair struggled to build on the overnight goodish rebound from one-week lows and was seen oscillating in a narrow trading band, around the 0.7200 handle.

The latest optimism over progress in the US-China trade talks, following a report that said US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was considering easing tariffs on Chinese products, provided a strong boost to the China-proxy Aussie and prompted some short-covering during the US trading session on Thursday.

The pair rallied to an intraday high level of 0.7221 in reaction to the headlines but trimmed some of the daily gains after the Treasury Department quickly denied the news, with a modest US Dollar uptick, also supported by upbeat US economic data, further collaborated towards capping any additional strong up-move.

In absence of any major market moving economic releases from the US, the USD price dynamics might continue to act as an exclusive driver of the pair's momentum on the last trading day of the week. 

Technical levels to watch