Ella 
AUD/USD flat as US inflation data and slowing Australian PMI weigh on Aussie
Wall Street closed higher on positive sentiment. The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, came in as expected at an annual rate of 2.8%, down from 2.9% in December. The U.S. PCE price index maintained a downward trend, with an annual rate of 2.4%, down from 2.6% last month.
Other data showed that the U.S. Department of Labor reported 215,000 initial jobless claims for the week ended February 17, higher than the expected figure of 210,000 and the previous figure of 202,000.
The odds of a 25 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve at its June meeting increased after the data. A day ago, this probability was around 50%, and now it stands at 60.4%.
Recently, the manufacturing purchasing managers index released by Australia’s Judo Bank in February was 47.8, indicating that the corporate economy shrank, lower than the previous value of 50.1. Warren Hogan, chief economist consultant at Judo Bank, said: “Australia’s manufacturing sector has not shown growth, casting doubt on the prospects for a post-pandemic pick-up in manufacturing. Over the past year, manufacturing has “The weak results are likely to reflect capacity constraints in Australia’s construction industry – the main driver of domestic manufacturing – as well as an overall cyclical slowdown in the economy.”
