The Australian dollar has edged slightly lower against the greenback, buying 72.27 US cents from 72.29 US cents on Thursday.

Yesterday, the Australian dollar is holding near a one-week high as riskier assets are boosted by signs of progress in Sino-US trade relations.

But most of the action in the forex world was in the British pound with most other currencies bystanders amid high political drama in Britain, where Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence vote on her leadership.

The Aussie was last at 72.17 US cents against the greenback after going as high as 72.38 on Wednesday.

Sentiment was boosted by news China bought over 1.5 million tonnes of US soybeans, in the first major US soybean purchases in more than six months.

US President Donald Trump has said that trade talks with China were progressing.

Also helping risk appetite, China appears to be easing its high-tech industrial development push, dubbed “Made in China 2025,” which has long irked the United States.

“Positive headlines have been rolling out of the China-US negotiations, suggesting it may squeeze higher in the short term,” ANZ analysts said in a note to clients.

“But the bias is to sell rallies.”

The Australian dollar is seen as a gauge of risk sentiment because the country’s economy is heavily dependent on world trade and China.