AUD/USD trades with caution near 0.6400 as Fed Powell's speech takes centre stage

• AUD/USD remains under pressure around 0.6400 as the US Dollar trades firmly ahead of Fed Powell's speech.
• Fed dovish speculation has slightly cooled ahead of Fed Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium.
• Preliminary Australian PMI data grew at a faster pace in August.

The AUD/USD pair trades cautiously near a fresh two-month low around 0.6400 during the European trading session on Friday. The Aussie pair is expected to remain on tenterhooks as investors await Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole (JH) Symposium at 14:00 GMT.

Investors will pay close attention to Fed Chair Powell's speech to get fresh cues about whether the United States (US) central bank will cut interest rates in the September policy meeting.

Ahead of the Fed Powell's speech, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback's value against six major currencies, posts a fresh 10-day high around 98.80.

Meanwhile, traders have trimmed bets supporting interest rate cuts by the Fed in September. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of the Fed cutting interest rates in September has eased to 73.3% from 85.4% seen a week ago.

On Thursday, Kansas City Fed Bank President Jeffrey Schmid stated that there is no rush for interest rate cuts as inflation is still above the central bank's target of 2%.

In Australia, upbeat flash S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data for August has failed to lift the Australian Dollar. The agency reported on Thursday that the Composite PMI came in at 54.9, higher than 53.8 in July. Robust business activity in both the manufacturing and the services sectors contributed to a strong growth in the private sector.