The Australian dollar jumped, reaching parity with the US currency, today as China refrained from increasing its interest rates, boosting the commodities and the stocks and increasing the attractiveness of the currency.
China was expected to increase the interest rates after the inflation reached 5.1 percent in November. The requirement for the banks to increase their reserves further fueled to the expectation of the interest rates hike. The unexpected decision to hold the rates shook the markets and they still are trying to accommodate themselves to the news.
The MSCI World Index of stocks grew 0.6 percent. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of raw materials advanced as much as 1.2 percent. The analysts say that the increase of the interest rates is still possible in the near future.
AUD/USD traded at 0.9987 as of 16:04 GMT today after it opened at 0.9960 and rose to the intraday high of 1.0017. EUR/AUD fell from 1.3439 to 1.3399, following the advance to 1.3503..
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Australian Dollar,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.