Despite risk appetite fueling demand for commodities produced in Australia, the Aussie dollar declined after a central bank decision published today showed no rate hikes expected by traders as the country’s economy rebounds.
The Australian dollar broke its 2010 record low versus the greenback after forecasts hoping interest rates to be raised in the country were not confirmed, frustrating traders that opted for other commodity producer’s currencies as the South African rand, after risk appetite reappeared since yesterday following a bearish week in both equities and raw materials markets. The Reserve Bank of Australia was the first wealthy nation to raise interest rates last year when the global slump ended, and the dynamic economy of the South Pacific region allowed both the Aussie and the kiwi to rank among the top performers in currency markets in 2009.
Interest rates in Australia have been for the past months a very important factor regarding its currency rates, and today’s pause on rate hikes certainly decreased appeal for the Aussie. Even if risk appetite avoided a bigger drop for the Aussie, traders are opting for other
AUD/USD traded at 0.8841 as of 16:41, gaining slightly after the interest rate decision pulled the Aussie down and from 0.8881 yesterday. AUD/JPY traded at 79.86 from 80.62.
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