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AUD Upside Tempered By PMI & COVID-19 Concerns

FOREX
  • NZD is top of the G10 pile early on Friday; NZD/USD up 12 pips, there were reports earlier that New Zealand are expected to announce a pause on travel bubble with Australia imminently.
  • In Australia the local COVID-19 dynamic continues to be in focus, Victoria reported 14 new cases, down from 26 in the previous day but the number of cases in Sydney are expected to rise. Elsewhere data showed manufacturing PMI slipped but remained resilient even during the latest lockdowns at 56.8, while the services sector suffered dropping to 44.2 in July from 56.8. The weak data has crimped AUD upside, AUD/USD last up 2 pips.
  • Japan will observe a national holiday on Friday. This will result in the closure of Japanese financial markets, the holidays will result in thinner liquidity during Asia-Pac trading. USD/JPY down 1 pip.
  • Offshore yuan is slightly lower, dropping after closing near session highs on Thursday. There are no economic releases on the docket today, markets will await comments over the weekend and early next week as US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman travels to China to meet with her counterpart.
  • GBP/USD is four pips higher, data showed UK GfK consumer confidence for July was slightly better than expected at -7, which is the highest reading since February 2020. Elsewhere there were reports that Northern Ireland could suspend checking goods entering from Britain if the UK signs up to a an unacceptable Brexit deal.

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