Aussie steadies on US-China trade optimism

Australian dollar steadied against its US counterpart as markets focus on US-China trade talks and ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes. 

President Trump said he'd be happy to cancel tariffs if a deal is reached with China, adding his administration is nearer that goal than ever. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping also said the talks will carry on in Washington this week, hoping for an agreement soon before the truce deadline in early March. 

However markets still don't see noticeable results despite the positive remarks, spreading doubts. 

Now investors await the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes for the January 29-30 meeting, at which policymakers voted to hold rates unchanged below 2.50%. 

As of 15:51 GMT, AUD/USD steadied at 0.7166, with an intraday high at 0.7177, and a low at 0.7141.