AUD/USD retreats ahead of FOMC Minutes

The AUD/USD pair slides more than 1.40% on Wednesday due to cooler-than-expected Australia’s Wage Price Index (WPI). Risk aversion keeps investors rushing towards safe-haven assets, bolstering the US dollar.

AUD/USD is currently below the 20/50-day EMA, on a risk-off impulse spurred by recession fears lingering on investors’ minds, while US Retail Sales crushed expectations on a yearly basis, ahead of the release of July’s FOMC monetary policy minutes. At the time of writing, the AUD/USD is trading at 0.6915.

Global stocks do reflect a deterioration in market sentiment. A report by the US Department of Commerce revealed that Retail Sales on a monthly basis for July finished flat at 0%, missing estimates of 0.1%, undermined by declines in auto purchases and gas prices. Compared to one year before, sales rose by 10.3%, higher than the 8.3% estimates.