AUD/USD retreats to 0.6650 as US Dollar rises, preliminary US PMI report in focus

• AUD/USD drops to near 0.6650 as the US Dollar extends its upside.
• The Fed is expected to begin reducing interest rates in September.
• Investors await the preliminary US S&P Global PMI data for June.

The AUD/USD pair falls back to the crucial support of 0.6650 in Friday’s European session. The Aussie asset surrenders its entire intraday gains and turns negative as the US Dollar (USD) rises further due to expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold its current restrictive interest rate framework for longer than other central banks.

The market sentiment remains cautious as global preliminary PMI figures for June have underperformed estimates in major economies such as the Eurozone, the United Kingdom (UK), Japan, and Australia. Also, the US PMI is expected to weaken against the prior release. Economists expect that the Composite PMI will decline due to poor activity in manufacturing and service sectors.

S&P 500 futures have posted some losses in the European session. Asian and European markets have witnessed a sheer sell-off. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, approaches the crucial resistance of 106.00 as investors rush for safe-haven assets.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, 30-day Federal Funds pricing data shows that interest rates will start declining from September. While other central banks from G-7 nations have already initiated the policy-easing phase such as the European Central Bank (ECB), the Bank of Canada (BoC). The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has delivered subsequent rate cuts on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Australian Dollar is under pressure across the FX domain even though the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is not expected to deliver rate cuts anytime soon. The RBA is expected to hold its Official Cash Rate (OCR) steady at 4.35% this year as price pressures in Australia are significantly higher than the desired rate of 2%.