Australian Dollar Remains Firm

2026-08-04 02:00 By Joshua Ferrer 1 min. read

The Australian dollar traded around $0.70, near multi-week highs as stronger-than-expected household spending reinforced signs of resilient domestic demand ahead of the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy meeting next week.

Household spending rose 0.8% in June, well above forecasts of 0.2%, driven by another increase in discretionary spending, while annual growth accelerated to 6.0%, also exceeding expectations.

The data supported the central bank’s view that consumer activity remains firm despite weak sentiment, although recent softer inflation and a cooling housing market have strengthened expectations that the central bank will leave its 4.35% cash rate unchanged next week.

Markets are also pricing little chance of a rate hike in September, while assigning roughly a 50% probability of a move in November if third-quarter inflation proves stronger than expected.

Investors now await upcoming final PMI figures and trade balance data this week for further clues on the economy’s health.



News Stream
Australian Dollar Remains Firm
The Australian dollar traded around $0.70, near multi-week highs as stronger-than-expected household spending reinforced signs of resilient domestic demand ahead of the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy meeting next week. Household spending rose 0.8% in June, well above forecasts of 0.2%, driven by another increase in discretionary spending, while annual growth accelerated to 6.0%, also exceeding expectations. The data supported the central bank’s view that consumer activity remains firm despite weak sentiment, although recent softer inflation and a cooling housing market have strengthened expectations that the central bank will leave its 4.35% cash rate unchanged next week. Markets are also pricing little chance of a rate hike in September, while assigning roughly a 50% probability of a move in November if third-quarter inflation proves stronger than expected. Investors now await upcoming final PMI figures and trade balance data this week for further clues on the economy’s health.
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Australian Dollar Near 7-Week High
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Australian Dollar Hits 6-Week High
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