AUD/USD attracts some buyers near 0.6700 ahead of Chinese data

• AUD/USD gains ground near 0.6700 on the back of a dovish Fed meeting.
• The preliminary Australian Judo Bank Composite PMI rose to a two-month high of 47.4 in December from 46.2 in November.
• US Retail sales climbed by 0.3% in November vs. -0.2% prior, below the market consensus.
• Chinese economic data and the US S&P Global PMI report will be released on Friday.

The AUD/USD pair hovers around 0.6700 during the early Asian session on Friday. The pair trades in positive territory for the third consecutive day as the US Dollar loses momentum. That being said, the dovish remarks from the Federal Reserve (Fed) after the Fed monetary policy meeting exert some selling pressure on the USD and create a tailwind for the AUD/USD. At press time, the pair is trading at 0.6698, down 0.04% on the day.

The latest data on Friday showed that the preliminary Australian Judo Bank Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for December rose to a two-month high of 47.4 from 46.2 in November. Meanwhile, the Manufacturing PMI came in at 47.8 in the same period versus 47.7 prior and Services PMI grew to 47.6 compared to 46.0 in the previous reading.

Furthermore, the Chinese Industrial Product and Retail Sales for November will be due on Friday. Any sign of further weakness in key economic data in China could weigh on sentiment and the China-proxy Australian Dollar (AUD).

On the other hand, US Retail sales rose 0.3% in November, compared to a 0.2% decline in the previous reading, below the market consensus of 0.1% drop. The weekly Initial Jobless Claims came in at 202K for the week ending December 8 versus 221K prior, better than the market expectation.

The Fed held its key interest rate steady at its December meeting on Wednesday and the market is pricing in a more aggressive rate cut, doubling the committee’s dot-plot projection by expecting 1.5 percentage points in rate cuts next year. This, in turn, weighs on the Greenback across the board.

Investors will keep an eye on the Chinese economic data, including Chinese Industrial Products and Retail Sales. Also, the US S&P Global PMI, the Empire Manufacturing Index, and Industrial Production data will be released later on Friday.