AUD/USD flirting with multi-year lows, risks breaking below 0.70 handle

   •  Disappointing Chinese manufacturing PMI prompts some fresh selling.
   •  Risk-off mood boosts USD’s safe-haven status and adds to the pressure.
   •  Bears await a sustained breakthrough the key 0.70 psychological mark.

The AUD/USD pair stalled its intraday attempted recovery near the 0.7045 region, with bears now eyeing a breakthrough the key 0.70 psychological mark.

The pair kicked off 2019 on a weaker note and continues to be weighed down by today's disappointing release of Chinese manufacturing data, which tracked the official survey released on Monday and slipped into contraction territory for the first time in 19 months.

Poor manufacturing data further fueled global growth concerns and triggered a fresh wave of risk-aversion trade, boosting boosted the US Dollar's relative safe-haven status and prompting some fresh selling around the China-proxy Australian Dollar. 

Despite the partial US government shutdown and expectations of a dovish Fed in 2019, the prevalent risk-off mood helped revive the USD demand and further collaborated to the pair's heavily offered tone/the ongoing slide to near three-year lows. 

It would now be interesting to see if the pair is able to defend the 0.70 handle or bears maintain their dominant position to confirm a fresh bearish breakdown amid absent relevant market moving economic releases from the US.

Technical levels to watch