Ella 
AUD/USD traded higher at 0.6632 in early Asian trade on Monday. AUD/USD gains support on U.S. dollar weakness. Australian retail sales and consumer price index (CPI) will be in focus this week.
U.S. durable goods orders announced on Friday rose 0.7% on a monthly basis in April, higher than the downwardly revised 0.8% in March and better than the -0.8% expected. The University of Michigan consumer confidence index rose to 69.1 in May from 67.4 in April, above expectations of 67.5. One-year inflation expectations edged up to 3.3% from 3.2%, while five-year inflation expectations fell to 3% from 3.1%.
A series of stronger-than-expected economic data and hawkish speeches from Federal Reserve officials dampened expectations for a near-term interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Financial markets have given up on the prospect of easing policy in September and now expect just one rate cut before the end of the year.
In the Australian dollar, high inflation in Australia prompted the Reserve Bank of Australia to consider raising interest rates at its latest board meeting. This in turn lifted the Australian dollar (AUD), boosting the AUD/USD currency pair. In addition, Australia’s Judo Bank preliminary manufacturing reading for May remained unchanged at 49.6, while the May services PMI ( PMI) fell to 53.1 from the previous value of 53.6.
