AUD/USD remains sideways above 0.6800 despite RBA favoring further policy restrictions

• AUD/USD is consistently trading sideways above 0.6800 as investors await US Retail Sales data.
• The Aussie asset has failed to find action despite RBA minutes conveying that further interest rate hikes are required.
• S&P500 futures have posted nominal losses in Asia, portraying caution among market participants.

The AUD/USD pair is consistently demonstrating a sideways auction above the round-level support of 0.6800 in the Tokyo session. The Aussie asset has failed to find action despite Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) minutes conveying that further interest rate hikes are required.

In July’s monetary policy meeting, favor of RBA policymakers tilted towards the Australian economic outlook and the board decided to keep interest rates steady. In the second quarter, consumer spending seen weak, and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was seen at around 0.2%, portraying the consequences of aggressive policy tightening.

Investors should note that there is a large deviation in interest rates raised by the RBA and other developed economies, which has allowed much room for further hikes.

This week, investors will focus on Australia’s Employment data, which will be released on Thursday at 01:30 GMT. As per the consensus, the fresh addition of payrolls is seen at 17K, significantly lower than the former release of 75.9K. The Unemployment Rate is expected to remain steady at 3.6%.

Meanwhile, S&P500 futures have posted nominal losses in Asia, portraying caution among market participants. US equities added decent gains on Monday as investors are hoping that only one interest rate hike has left in the inflation-control toolkit of the Federal Reserve (Fed).

The US Dollar Index (DXY) has corrected to near its crucial support of 99.75 after failing to sustain above the psychological resistance of 100.00. Further action in the US Dollar Index would be triggered by the United States Retail Sales (June) data, which will be published at 12:30 GMT.