• AUD/USD continues with its struggle to gain any meaningful traction on Tuesday. 
• RBA rate cut bets, and US-China trade tensions cap the Aussie amid a stronger USD.
• Bulls await a sustained strength above the 0.6300 mark before placing fresh bets.

The AUD/USD pair extends its sideways consolidative price move for the fifth straight day and remains below the 0.6300 mark through the first half of the European session on Tuesday. 

Against the backdrop of rising bets for an imminent rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) next week, escalating US-China trade tensions turn out to be a key factor acting as a headwind for the Australian Dollar (AUD). Apart from this, a modest US Dollar (USD) strength, bolstered by expectations that US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs would boost inflation and force the Federal Reserve (Fed) to stick to its hawkish stance, contributes to capping the AUD/USD pair. 

From a technical perspective, spot prices now seem to have found acceptance above the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). Moreover, oscillators on the daily chart have just started gaining positive traction and suggest that the path of least resistance for the AUD/USD pair is to the upside. That said, it will be prudent to wait for a sustained strength above the 0.6300 mark before positioning for an extension of the recent recovery from the lowest level since April 2020 touched earlier this month. 

The subsequent move-up could lift spot prices to the 0.6365-0.6370 intermediate hurdle en route to the 0.6400 mark and the 100-day SMA barrier, currently pegged near the 0.6455 region. Some follow-through buying beyond the latter will suggest that spot prices have bottomed out and pave the way for a further near-term appreciating move. 

On the flip side, the overnight swing low, around the 0.6235 region, now seems to act as an immediate support, below which the AUD/USD pair could slide to sub-0.6200 levels. The downward trajectory could extend further towards the 0.6145-0.6140 area en route to the multi-year low, around the 0.6090-0.6085 region. Spot prices might eventually drop to the 0.6000 psychological mark before aiming to test the April 2020 swing low, around the 0.5980 zone.
 

AUD/USD daily chart

(Click on image to enlarge)

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