Commodity News
HeadLine : Aussie holds weaker as China PMI final for July falls
Date : Aug 3 2015

The Australian dollar held weaker in Asia on Monday despite an upbeat manufacturing survey as the outlook for inflation appeared subdued and investors noted a disappointing manufacturing survey from China.

AUD/USD traded at 0.7308, down 0.03%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 123.98, up 0.11%. EUR/USD was quoted at 1.0975, down 0.09%.

In Australia, the AIG manufacturing survey leaped 6.2 points to 50.4 in July, posting the first expansion since May 2014.

The lower dollar was an important positive factor in the July turnaround in manufacturing performance which saw another lift in exports.

As well, the MI inflation gauge rose 0.2% month-on-month in June, well within the central bank's 1% to 3% band.

The manufacturing PMIs from Japan, seen at 51.4 in July, came in at 51.2 and for China, the Caixin/Markit final for July dropped to 47.8, well below the 48.3 in the flash estimate. The Australian economy is highly dependent on exports to China.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was quoted at 97.40, up 0.08%.

Last week, the dollar fell against the euro and the other major currencies on Friday after data pointing to sluggish U.S. wage growth tempered expectations for a rate hike in the coming months.

News Archives: