Australian dollar is retaining the upper hand against its major counterparts in currency trading as the Reserve Bank of Australia remains upbeat about the economic situation.
The RBA left Australian interest rates unchanged at 3.50 per cent, and delivered its policy statement in a tone that was much less pessimistic than expected. Indeed, economists had expected a little more disappointment about the economy, and were surprised that the policy statement contained a more upbeat tone.
As a result, the Aussie is a little higher today. Help from the Chinese economy is probably part of the equation. Expectations that China will add stimulus to help boost economic growth that has been slowing is likely one of the reasons that the Australian economy outlook isn’t as bad as some might expect. Australia is a major trading partner with China.
Additionally, the recent increase in gold prices is probably also helping. Aussie is a commodity currency tied to gold performance, and with gold heading higher, the Australian dollar is probably finding some support in the currency market. Even with some of the uncertainty on the market, Aussie is gaining.
At 13:23 GMT AUD/USD is up to 1.0241 from the open at 1.0239. EUR/AUD is a little bit lower, heading down to 1.2265 from the open at 1.2291. GBP/AUD is down to 1.5481 from the open at 1.5508. AUD/NZD is also higher, up to 1.2910 from the open at 1.2842.
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