RBA shocks markets with surprise rate hold

Morning, Rich Henderson from Bloomberg's Melbourne Bureau. Here are the latest headlines:Today's must-reads:• RBA shocks with a rate hold• S

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Morning, Rich Henderson from Bloomberg's Melbourne Bureau. Here are the latest headlines: Today's must-reads: • RBA shocks with a rate hold • Super funds load up on private equity • Albanese heads to China

What's happening now

The Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates on hold in a shock to markets that sent the local dollar spiking and bonds tumbling.  Super funds are loading up on private equity with Mercer Superannuation Australia, which manages around A$75 billion, adding the asset class to its default investment options. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese plans to travel to China for the first time since 2023, seeking to strengthen ties with his country's largest trading partner.  Australia is positioning itself as an alternative source of critical minerals as China tightens its grip over the supply of rare earths. On Bloomberg's Australia Ahead, Vlado Vivoda of the Sustainable Minerals Institute discusses the country's chance to shape the next phase of global supply chains. Click link to play. Bloomberg The cost of building a home in New Zealand rose in the second quarter, but the modest increase is a sign over-supply has left developers reluctant to build new dwellings.

What happened overnight

Here's what my colleague, market strategist Mike "Willo" Wilson says happened while we were sleeping… Trump's focus turned to copper which soared to a record on news that he intends to apply a 50% tariff on imports of the metal effective August 1, the date on which other tariffs would land. Treasuries joined a global drop in longer-dated bonds in response. US stocks and the dollar were little changed. Oil rose and ASX futures were down marginally. Aussie was among the best performing major currencies in wake of the Reserve Bank's surprise hold. Today it's RBNZ's turn and a hold is expected here. A surprise cut would weigh on the kiwi pretty hard. Donald Trump reignited tariff threats with the US president saying he would press ahead with his aggressive levies in the coming days and not offer further extensions on country-specific tariffs expected to hit in early August. One of the Bank of Japan's newest board members alluded to the a possible upward revision to its inflation view this month due to increasing prices for rice, a move that would keep open the chance of another rate increase this year. SpaceX may be worth around $400 billion after Elon Musk's rocket maker discussed plans to raise money in a deal that would mark the largest-ever valuation for a privately held US company. Boeing has received a sales boost from China after the manufacturer sold 60 aircraft in June, its best showing in 18 months, with eight deliveries going to China after Trump and Xi Jinping backed away from a showdown on tariffs.

What to watch

All times Sydney • 12:00 p.m.: Reserve Bank of New Zealand Official Cash Rate

One more thing...

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman hasn't yet spoken to Mark Zuckerberg since the Meta Platforms chief executive officer poached some of OpenAI's top engineers, but he's anticipating a meeting at the Sun Valley conference this week and "looking forward to it." Altman has said Meta offered individuals as much as $100 million to jump ship. OpenAI's strategy for retaining top performers is "having a great mission, really talented people and trying to build a great research lab and a great company, too," Altman said after arriving at the Allen & Co. event in Idaho on Tuesday. Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI Inc. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

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