The Australian dollar slumped today for the second day as country’s economic growth last quarter was slower than market participants have hoped for, sparking talks about an interest rate cut.
Australian gross domestic product grew 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2013 on a seasonally adjusted basis, at the same rate as in the previous quarter and slower than the forecast 0.8 percent. The annual increase was at 2.5 percent, below the expectations of 2.7 percent and it was slowest growth since June 2011. The data led to speculations that the Reserve Bank of Australia may cut interest rate on its next meeting. The central bank left monetary policy unchanged yesterday, but suggested that additional stimulus is possible in the future.
AUD/USD fell from 0.9649 to 0.9598 as of 12:20 GMT today and its daily low was at 0.9550. AUD/JPY was down from 96.47 to 95.38, trading near the lowest level since March 5.
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