05.08.202601:20:03UTC+00Australian Dollar Holds at 7-Week Top

The Australian dollar traded firmly above $0.70, hovering at a seven-week high, supported by improving global risk appetite, broad-based US dollar weakness, and robust domestic economic data. Australia’s private sector gained further momentum in July, with the composite PMI revised up to 53.2 — the highest reading since January — driven by a six-month peak in services activity and a return to growth in manufacturing. Stronger-than-expected household spending further underscored the resilience of domestic demand, even as markets have largely ruled out the possibility of a rate hike at next week’s Reserve Bank policy meeting. Elsewhere, growing optimism that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is close to being finalized has eased concerns over major supply disruptions, helping propel Australian equities to a record high. At the same time, the US dollar remained under pressure after recent coordinated intervention by US and Japanese authorities to support the yen, a move that has also buoyed other Asian currencies.