AUD/USD sticks to the range-bound trade below the mid-0.6300s ahead of Fed rate decision

• AUD/USD faces some range-bound trade below the mid-0.6300s on Wednesday.
• The markets anticipate that the FOMC will leave interest rates unchanged at its November meeting.
• The Middle East geopolitical tensions and the downbeat Chinese data weighed on the Aussie.
• The FOMC interest rate decision and FOMC press conference will be in the spotlight.

The AUD/USD pair sticks to a range-bound trade during the early Asian session on Wednesday. Appetite for risk assets elsewhere was subdued ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement, with no change in rates expected. The pair currently trades around 0.6334, losing 0.04% for the day.

The FOMC meeting on Wednesday will be a closely watched event. The markets anticipate that the central bank will leave interest rates unchanged at its November meeting. The FOMC has made it obvious that it will not raise interest rates at this meeting, thus, investors will keep an eye on the FOMC’s message after the meeting about how high the bar is to convince the FOMC to hike rates again.

The elevated geopolitical risks in the Middle East and the downbeat Chinese data weighed on the risk sentiment and lift the safe-haven US Dollar (USD) higher. The weaker-than-expected Chinese Manufacturing PMI data raised concerns about the economic recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.

Apart from this, the latest data on Wednesday revealed that the Australian AiG Industry Index for September came in at -9.9 versus -3.5 prior, while the AiG Manufacturing PMI arrived at -20.9 from -12.8 in the previous reading.

Looking ahead, market players will monitor the US ADP employment report, JOLTS, and the ISM Manufacturing PMI on Wednesday. The highlight events will be the FOMC decision and Powell's press conference. Traders will take cues from the events and find trading opportunities around the AUD/USD pair.