AUD/USD surrenders gains on below-forecast Aussie construction data

• The AUD is losing altitude on weaker-than-expected Australian second-quarter construction data.
• A recovery in risk assets could put a floor under the Aussie dollar.

The bid tone around the Aussie dollar weakened following the release of a dismal Aussie data at 01:30 GMT.

Construction work done, a key metric used in GDP calculations, fell 3.8 percent in the second quarter.  That has been the largest contraction since the fourth quarter of 2017. The consensus estimate was for a drop of 1% following a 1.9% contraction in the first quarter.

With the construction data missing estimates, the probability of Australian second-quarter GDP disappointing expectations has gone up.

As a result, the AUD could feel the pull of gravity during the day ahead.  The AUD/USD pair has already surrendered gains. The pair is now trading largely reporting marginal losses at 0.6747 - down 16 pips from the high of 0.6763 seen ahead of the release of the key data.

The downside, however, could be limited if the equities put on a good show. As of writing, the futures on the S&P 500 index, a global benchmark for equities, are reporting 0.28% gains.

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