AUD/USD consolidates around 0.6400 as investors await key US data

• AUD/USD ticks higher to near 0.6400 on Wednesday but is broadly sideways from over a week.
• The US economy is expected to have grown by 0.4% in the January-March period.
• RBA Q1 Trimmed Mean CPI data fell inside the central bank's range of 2%-3%.

The AUD/USD pair trades slightly higher near 0.6400 during European trading hours on Wednesday. The Aussie pair ticks higher as the US Dollar (USD) gains ahead of a string of United States (US) economic data, notably Q1 Gross Domestic Product (GDP), releasing in the North American session.

However, the pair has been broadly sideways for over a week amid uncertainty over trade relations between the US and China. Hopes of a de-escalation in the trade war between Washington and Beijing have diminished as the tussle between them has become more of a "dominance".

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Monday that China should initiate trade talks. I believe that it's up to China to de-escalate, because they sell five times more to us than we sell to them," Bessent said.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, rises to near 99.45.

Economists have anticipated a moderate US economic growth of 0.4% in the first quarter of the year on an annualized basis, much slower than the 2.4% expansion recorded in the last quarter of the previous year. Lower US economic growth forecasts appear to be the consequence of tariffs raised by US President Donald Trump on his trading partners.

Additionally, investors will also focus on the US ADP Employment data for April and the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE) data for March, which will influence market expectations for the Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy outlook.

In the Australian region, Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) Q1 Trimmed Mean Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew moderately by 2.9% year-on-year, as expected, slower than the prior release of 3.3%, revised higher from 3.2%. The underlying inflation data has fallen in the RBA's range of 2%-3% for the first time since the last quarter of 2021. Soft inflation data has increased market expectations that the RBA could reduce interest rates in the May policy meeting.