AUD/USD moves sideways below 0.7300, Fed rate decision eyed

• AUD/USD looks to end the fourth straight day in the positive territory.
• US Dollar Index struggles to find direction.
• The Fed is expected to keep its policy rate unchanged.

The AUD/USD pair preserved its bullish momentum on Thursday and rose to its highest level since late September at 0.7301 before going into a consolidation phase in the NA session. Before the Fed announces its monetary policy decisions later in the day, the pair is staying quiet below the 0.73 handle. As of writing, AUD/USD was up 0.15% on the day at 0.7288.

The US Dollar Index, which came under a heavy selling pressure after Republicans lost the majority in the House of Representatives in midterm elections, struggled to make a decisive recovery amid a lack of significant fundamental drivers. Today’s data from the U.S. showed that weekly initial jobless claims came in at 214K to match the analysts’ estimate. At the moment, the DXY is up 0.09% on the day at 96.25.

Previewing today’s FOMC event, “In light of our economic projections, we think the Fed remains on track to deliver one more rate hike this year, but in December. That would be consistent with last week comments by the Fed’s new vice chair Richard Clarida, who, in his first public speech, said he thought “some further gradual adjustment in the policy rate range will likely be appropriate,” said NBF analysts.  

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Technical levels to consider

The immediate resistance for the pair aligns at 0.7300 (daily high) ahead of 0.7360 (Aug. 28 high) and 0.7440 (Aug. 7 high). On the downside, supports could be seen at 0.7240 (100-DMA), 0.7200 (psychological level) and 0.7155 (50-DMA).