AUD/USD turns red near 0.7570 as DXY holds above 94

• AUD/USD rises to a fresh 9-day high before erasing daily gains.
• The US’ decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum hurts the market sentiment.
• The US Dollar Index holds above 94 on upbeat data.

The AUD/USD pair took advantage of a weaker greenback and the high risk-appetite during the first half of the day and advanced to its highest level since May 22 at 0.7595. However, the pair lost its bullish momentum in the NA session and erased its daily gains. As of writing, the pair was trading at 0.7568, losing 0.12% on the day.

In a highly controversial decision, the United States Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross  announced that they would start imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, 25% and 10% respectively, from the European Union, Canada, and Mexico. The market reaction to this development weighed on the demand for risk-sensitive assets, such as the AUD. Moreover, Wall Street started the day lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were last seen losing 0.9%and 0.5%.

In the meantime, the greenback received an additional boost from the upbeat macroeconomic data releases. Personal spending grew by 0.6% on a monthly basis in April and the core-PCE price index numbers, the Fed’s favorite gauge of inflation, supported the view of the Fed going for another rate hike in June with a 0.2% and 1.8% rise on a monthly and yearly basis.

The US Dollar Index, which tumbled to a 5-day low at 93.70, retraced its downside and is now looking to end the day above the 94 mark.

Technical levels to consider

On the downside, 0.7500 (May 29 low/psychological level) remains as the first important support ahead of 0.7445 (May 16 low) and 0.7410 (May 9 low).

Resistances could be seen at  0.7595/0.7600 (daily high/50-DMA/psychological level), 0.7680 (Apr. 23 high) and 0.7730 (200-DMA).