AUD/USD remains on the defensive below 0.6450, investors await Australian CPI data

• AUD/USD holds below 0.6450 in Monday’s early Asian session. 
• The hawkish comments from Fed officials in recent weeks have lifted the Greenback. 
• The moderate Australian inflation data and the continuously tight labour market could prompt RBA rate cuts this year. 

The AUD/USD pair remains on the defensive near 0.6420 during the early Asian session on Monday. The Federal Reserve (Fed) media blackout went into effect at midnight Friday. Nonetheless, the US central bank has delivered hawkish messages in recent weeks and markets expect the first cut in September. 

On Friday, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said that inflation progress had “stalled and the Fed’s current restrictive policy is appropriate. Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, one of the most hawkish members of the FOMC, stated that the US central bank wouldn’t cut rates until the end of the year. The chance of a June cut has fallen below 20% and the odds of a July cut have dropped below 50%. A September cut is not fully priced in, with the probability falling below 90%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.