AUD/USD Remains Depressed Below 0.6700 On Negative Sentiment China Caixin Production PMI

AUD/USD struggles to surmount intraday losses as the most recent data from China and Australia bolsters negative sentiment on a Monday morning. In spite of this, the AUD/USD pair remains below 0.6665 as of press time due to concerns of a dovish RBA rate hike and weaker US activity and employment data.

Consequently, China's Caixin Manufacturing PMI for March falls from 51.6 previously and 51.7 market forecasts to 50.0.

In addition, Australia's TD Securities Inflation slowed to 0.3% MoM and 5.7% YoY for March, compared to 0.4% and 6.2%, respectively, in the prior month. This, along with the previous week's disappointing inflation and Retail Sales data from the Pacific major, strengthens the dovish bias for the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) next move.

Earlier in the day, news of the OPEC+ output cut weighed on sentiment and the AUD/USD exchange rate, as a reduction in energy output suggests a further increase in the price of Oil and increased pressure on Inflation.

It's worth noting that the CME's FedWatch Tool indicates an increase in the hawkish bias for the Federal Reserve's (Fed) 0.25 basis point rate hike in May, compared to less than 50 percent support for the event in the previous week, which weighs on the AUD/USD exchange rate.

Given the risk-averse sentiment and conflicting signals, the AUD/USD pair could remain under pressure near the key short-term support line. However, Monday's US ISM PMI and Tuesday's RBA Interest Rate Decision will be the most important events for Aussie pair traders.