The Australian Dollar has jumped higher against the Pound and has climbed by more than 1% against the US Dollar.
The currency’s strong rise came after the Reserve Bank of Australia chose to maintain its benchmark interest rate at the record low level of 2.50%. The Central Bank said that it made the decision after previous rate cuts are still affecting the national economy with positive results.
RBA governor Glenn Stevens boosted the appeal of the currency by saying in a statement which accompanied the decision that cash rate cuts since late-2011 had supported interest-sensitive spending and asset values.
“The full effects of these decisions are still coming through, and will be for a while yet,” he said.
Adding to the ‘Aussie’s’ strength was the release of retail sales data which beat economist forecasts. According to the Sydney based Bureau of Statistics, sales increased by 0.4% in August, better than the 0.1% rise recorded in July and beating the 0.3% gain forecasted by economists.
Despite Tuesday’s gains the Australian Dollar remains under pressure due to concerns over the strength of the Chinese economy. China is Australia’s biggest trading partner and any weakness in the world’s second largest economy has a negative effect on Australia.
“We’ve got this view that the Australian economy is going to slow further from here because of what’s happening in China and just because of a natural end of the mining boom,” said Daniel Martin, an economist at Capital Economics. “Growth will probably disappoint, prompting the RBA to cut rates at some point”.
Data released today by the Beijing based National Bureau of Statistics and the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed that PMI rose to 51.1 in September below the expected level of 51.6. Any figure above 50 indicates an expansion.
Current Exchange Australian Dollar (AUD) Rates
< Lower > Higher
The Australian Dollar/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.9419 >
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6943 >
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5801 >
The Australian Dollar/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1329 >
The US Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0616 <
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4402 <
The Pound Sterling /Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.7237<
The New Zealand Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8826 <
Correct as of 09:40 am GMT
Comments are closed.