Australian Dollar Near 7-Week High

2026-08-03 01:15 By Joshua Ferrer 1 min. read

The Australian dollar rose above $0.70, approaching a seven-week high, supported by broad weakness in the US dollar and hopes of diplomatic talks in the Middle East.

The greenback weakened after Japan confirmed coordinated yen-buying operations with the US Treasury last week, boosting support for the Aussie.

Elsewhere, US President Donald Trump said peace talks with Iran will resume after key Middle Eastern allies urged a diplomatic solution and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, lifting risk sentiment.

In Australia, markets imply next to no chance the Reserve Bank will hike at its next meeting and only a slim possibility of a move in September.

However, markets are pricing roughly even odds of a November hike, reflecting the risk that third-quarter inflation data could come in stronger than expected.

The central bank has already raised rates three times this year, and the cumulative tightening is increasingly weighing on the housing market, with prices falling 0.7% in July.



News Stream
Australian Dollar Near 7-Week High
The Australian dollar rose above $0.70, approaching a seven-week high, supported by broad weakness in the US dollar and hopes of diplomatic talks in the Middle East. The greenback weakened after Japan confirmed coordinated yen-buying operations with the US Treasury last week, boosting support for the Aussie. Elsewhere, US President Donald Trump said peace talks with Iran will resume after key Middle Eastern allies urged a diplomatic solution and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, lifting risk sentiment. In Australia, markets imply next to no chance the Reserve Bank will hike at its next meeting and only a slim possibility of a move in September. However, markets are pricing roughly even odds of a November hike, reflecting the risk that third-quarter inflation data could come in stronger than expected. The central bank has already raised rates three times this year, and the cumulative tightening is increasingly weighing on the housing market, with prices falling 0.7% in July.
2026-08-03
Australian Dollar Hits 6-Week High
The Australian dollar rose above $0.70, hitting a six-week high and on track for a weekly advance as broad weakness in the US dollar outweighed fading expectations for further interest rate hikes at home. Markets imply next to no chance the Reserve Bank of Australia will hike at its August meeting and see only even odds of a move by December after softer-than-expected second-quarter inflation figures reduced the need for further policy tightening. Still, the RBA governor recently warned that another rate hike may still be needed to bring inflation back to target. Meanwhile, suspected intervention by Japanese authorities to support the yen broadly weakened the greenback, providing support for the Aussie. Additionally, US inflation data in June, released a day after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, came in softer than expected, prompting investors to further scale back expectations for additional Fed rate hikes.
2026-07-31
Aussie Dollar Dips on Softer CPI Data
The Australian dollar fell below $0.695, reaching its weakest level in two weeks as softer inflation data dampened expectations of additional interest rate hikes. Headline inflation unexpectedly eased to a four-month low of 3.8% in June from both May's reading and forecasts of 4.0%, while monthly consumer prices unexpectedly fell 0.1% for a second straight month. Meanwhile, the closely watched trimmed mean inflation rate rose 3.6% annually, below expectations of 3.7%, while quarterly core inflation increased 0.8%, also undershooting forecasts. Although inflation remains above the Reserve Bank’s 2%–3% target range, markets sharply scaled back bets on another rate hike this year to around 50% from more than 90% before the release. The softer readings also reinforced the view that the central bank is unlikely to resume policy tightening at its August 11 meeting. Still, the RBA's governor recently warned that another rate hike may still be needed to bring inflation back to target.
2026-07-29