AUD/USD stays at multi-week highs above 0.7150 after FOMC minutes

• FOMC meeting minutes helps the greenback recover small part of its losses.
• US Dollar Index rebounds to 97 area.
• Coming up: Consumer Inflation Expectations from Australia.

The AUD/USD pair rose to its highest level since late February at 0.7175 earlier in the session but struggled to push higher as the USD took advantage of the FOMC minutes and started to weigh on the pair. As of writing, the pair was trading at 0.7167, still adding 0.6% on a daily basis.

The minutes of the FOMC's March meeting showed that some policymakers thought that a modest hike in the policy rate later this year could be warranted while the majority of them agreed the Fed's patient approach on rates was needed given the uncertainties surrounding global economy and financial developments. The statement further highlighted that policymakers said that their view could shift on whether the Fed's next move should be a hike or cut. The US Dollar Index, which was at a session low of 95.85, rose toward the 97 handle with the initial reaction and was last seen at 96.90, losing 0.12% on the day.  

Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics today reported that the inflation, as measured by the core Consumer Price Index, edged down to 2% on a yearly basis in the U.S. and missed the market expectation of 2.1%. 

Earlier today, the data Australia showed that Westpac Consumer Confidence in April improved to 1.9% from -4.8% in March to help the AUD find demand. In the early Asian session on Thursday, Consumer Inflation Expectations will be the next data to watch from Australia.

Technical levels to consider