AUD/USD steadies near 0.6930, looks to close at 2-week lows
- Lack of progress on US-China trade talks hurt antipodeans.
- US Dollar Index climbs above mid-97s on Tuesday.
- Coming up: Westpac Consumer Confidence from Australia.
The AUD/USD pair came under pressure during the Asian trading hours after the National Australia Bank's Business Confidence dropped to 2 in June from 7 in May. After falling to its lowest level in two weeks at 0.6920 in the early European morning, the pair started to consolidate its daily losses and was last seen trading at 0.6930, losing 0.6% on a daily basis.
In addition to the disappointing data from Australia, the lack of progress in the U.S.-China trade talks seems to be weighing on the antipodeans as well. Earlier in the American trading hours, the U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that they have decided to keep Huawei on the blacklist know as the Entity List. On the other hand, the South China Morning Post in a report claimed that Chinese President Xi refused to make a specific commitment to agricultural purchases at G20, "signalling a new and tougher stance towards trade talks from Beijing."
On the other hand, boosted by the receding hopes of the Fed making an aggressive dovish shift in its policy outlook after Friday's strong NFP data, the US Dollar Index extended its rally into a fifth straight day and touched its highest level since June 19 at 97.60 to further weigh on the pair. At the moment, the DXY is up 0.15% on the day at 97.52.
In the early trading hours of the Asian session, the Westpac Consumer Confidence Index from Australia will be looked upon for fresh impetus.
Technical levels to watch for