AUD/USD flirts with 50-day SMA, seems vulnerable near multi-week low ahead of FOMC minutes

• AUD/USD trades with negative bias for the fifth straight day amid a modest USD strength.
• Disappointment over China’s stimulus update exerts additional pressure on the Aussie.
• Traders now look to FOMC minutes for short-term impetus ahead of US inflation figures.

The AUD/USD pair attracts fresh sellers following an intraday uptick to the 0.6760 area and drifts into negative territory for the fifth straight day on Wednesday. Spot prices drop to the 0.6725-0.6720 region during the first half of the European session, closer to over a three-week low touched on Tuesday, with bears flirting with the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). 

The Australian Dollar (AUD) continues to be undermined by the disappointment over China's stimulus update, which, along with a modest US Dollar (USD) uptick, exerts some downward pressure on the AUD/USD pair. China's National Development and Reform Commission stated on Tuesday that the economy is facing more complex internal and external environments and also fell short of announcing any new major stimulus plans. This, to a larger extent, overshadowed a relatively hawkish minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) September meeting. 

Meanwhile, investors have been paring bets for a more aggressive policy easing by the Federal Reserve (Fed) and an oversized interest rate cut in November amid signs of a still resilient US labor market. This keeps the yield on the benchmark 10-year US government bond elevated above the 4% threshold and the USD Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of currencies, close to a seven-week high touched last Friday. Apart from this, a generally weaker tone around the equity markets benefits the safe-haven buck and weighs on the risk-sensitive Aussie. 

The fundamental backdrop supports prospects for an extension of the AUD/USD pair's recent retracement slide from the highest level since February 2023, around the 0.6940-0.6945 region touched last month. Bearish traders, however, seem reluctant and prefer to wait for more cues about the Fed's rate-cut path before placing fresh bets. Hence, the market focus will glued to the release of the FOMC meeting minutes later this Wednesday, which will be followed by the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI) on Thursday and Friday, respectively.