AUD/USD strengthens on China’s positive developments ahead of Wespac Consumer Confidence

AUD/USD firms above prior psychological resistance, now support at 0.6500.
China’s positive trade data and trade negotiations with the United States contribute to AUD strength.
Australia looks ahead to Tuesday’s Wespac Consumer Confidence data for signs of how Australians feel about the economy, which could impact AUD/USD price action.

Tammy Da Costa, CFTe®FXStreet

The Australian Dollar (AUD) is trading higher against the US Dollar (USD) on Monday, with the AUD/USD pair firming above the 0.6500 resistance level at the time of writing.

The positive shift in sentiment is being supported by developments in US–China relations, with senior officials, including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng, meeting in London for two days of intensive talks that will focus on trade and export controls, particularly surrounding rare earth minerals.

The meetings, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, aim to ease tensions and rebuild diplomatic and economic ties. Progress in these discussions could lift global risk sentiment and indirectly benefit the AUD by boosting demand for Australian exports to China.

Separately, China’s May trade surplus surprised to the upside, coming in at $103.22 billion, above expectations of $101.3 billion and April’s $96.18 billion. The stronger data signals resilient global demand and potential recovery in Chinese industrial activity, further supporting the AUD on expectations of stronger Chinese import demand and improved overall market confidence.

AUD/USD hinges on Australian Consumer Confidence data due on Tuesday

On Tuesday, Australia will release its Westpac Consumer Confidence index for June, providing a snapshot of how Australians perceive current and future economic conditions. In May, the index rose by 2.2%, showing a modest improvement in sentiment. This data matters because consumer confidence is a leading indicator of spending, which plays a major role in contributing to Australia’s economic growth. A stronger-than-expected print can support the Aussie Dollar by signalling economic resilience, while a weak reading may raise concerns about domestic demand, reinforcing dovish expectations for future interest rate meetings of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

US Dollar PRICE Today

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Swiss Franc.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		-0.29%	-0.27%	-0.23%	-0.12%	-0.43%	-0.62%	-0.06%
EUR	0.29%		-0.00%	0.05%	0.15%	-0.13%	-0.34%	0.21%
GBP	0.27%	0.00%		0.14%	0.15%	-0.11%	-0.35%	0.21%
JPY	0.23%	-0.05%	-0.14%		0.12%	-0.24%	-0.44%	0.05%
CAD	0.12%	-0.15%	-0.15%	-0.12%		-0.33%	-0.50%	0.05%
AUD	0.43%	0.13%	0.11%	0.24%	0.33%		-0.23%	0.34%
NZD	0.62%	0.34%	0.35%	0.44%	0.50%	0.23%		0.56%
CHF	0.06%	-0.21%	-0.21%	-0.05%	-0.05%	-0.34%	-0.56%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).

Economic Indicator

Westpac Consumer Confidence

The Westpac Consumer Confidence released by the Faculty of Economics and Commerce Melbourne Institute captures the level of sentiment that individuals have in economic activity reflecting respondents' evaluations of their family finances over the past and coming year, expectations about the one-year and five-year economic conditions and views about current buying conditions for major household items. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).

EUR/USD consolidates weekly gains near 1.1750 after PMI data

EUR/USD trades marginally lower on the day near 1.1750 in the European session on Friday. The data from Germany and the Eurozone showed that the business activity in private sector expanded at a modest pace in January, helping the Euro hold its ground. In the second half of the day, US PMI data will be watched closely.

When are the UK Retail Sales and how could they affect GBP/USD?

The United Kingdom docket has the Retail Sales data for December to be released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Friday, later this session at 07:00 GMT. UK Retail Sales are expected to decline by 0.1% month-over-month in December, following a 0.1% decline seen in November.