AUD/USD retreats from two-week highs, holds above 0.7300
- AUD/USD consolidates daily gains during the American session.
- US Dollar Index stays in the negative territory 92.50.
- CB Consumer Confidence came in lower than market expectation in August.
The broad-based selling pressure surrounding the greenback allowed the AUD/USD pair to gather bullish momentum on Tuesday. After rising to a two-week high of 0.7343 during the European trading hours, however, the pair seems to have gone into a consolidation phase and was last seen trading at 0.7320, rising 0.38% on a daily basis.
Focus shifts to Australian GDP report
Following Friday's sharp decline on the back of FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell's cautious tone regarding asset tapering, the US Dollar Index (DXY) moved sideways on Monday but extended its slide on Tuesday. As of writing, the DXY was down 0.22% on the day at 92.50.
Earlier in the day, the data from the US revealed that the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence declined to 113.8 in August from 125.1 in July, missing the market consensus of 124. Wall Street's main indexes are posting modest daily losses after this report and allowing the DXY to limit its losses for the time being.
On Wednesday, second-quarter GDP data from Australia will be looked upon for fresh impetus. Investors expect the Australian economy to expand by 9.2% on a yearly basis. A lower-than-forecast print could make it difficult for the AUD to continue to outperform its American counterpart and vice versa.
Technical levels to watch for