• The Australian Dollar gains ground due to an improved risk-on mood on Friday.
• The AUD may appreciate further due to the hawkish sentiment surrounding the RBA’s stance on its policy outlook.
• The US Composite PMI indicated that business activity continues to grow, marking 19 consecutive months of expansion.

The Australian Dollar (AUD) retraces its recent gains against the US Dollar (USD) amid rising risk-on sentiment on Friday. Traders await the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium later in the North American session.

The AUD/USD pair could advance further due to the hawkish mood surrounding the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) about its policy outlook. RBA Governor Michele Bullock expressed that the Australian central bank will not hesitate to raise rates again to combat inflation if needed. Additionally, RBA's August Meeting Minutes suggested that the cash rate might stay unchanged for an extended period.

The US Dollar (USD) depreciates amid lower Treasury yields on Friday. However, the Greenback received support from the mixed S&P Global Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data released on Thursday.

The US Composite PMI dipped slightly to 54.1 in August, a four-month low, down from 54.3 in July, yet remained above market expectations of 53.5. This suggests that US business activity continues to expand, marking 19 straight months of growth.