Australian Dollar Exchange Rate

By: EconomyWatch   Date: 23 November 2010

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The Australian dollar (AUD) is the currency of Australia. AUD is also the currency of the independent island states of Nauru, Kiribati, and Tuvalu. The Australian dollar is abbreviated as ($), A$ or AU$. Australia was the firstnation in the world to transform its currency system into one totally based on polymer banknotes.

The Australian dollar is the sixth most heavily traded currency after the US dollar, Euro, Japanese yen, British pound and Swiss franc. It makes up around 5% of world foreign exchange transactions, i.e. approximately 1.9 trillion Australian dollars a day.

Evolution of the Australian Dollar

The Australia dollar was pegged to the US dollar between 1946 and 1971 under the Bretton Woods System and was effectivelypegged to the sterling until 1967. After the breakdown of the Bretton Woods System in 1971, Australia converted the fixed peg to a moving peg against the US dollar. On December 9, 1983, the Australian dollar was "floated," thereby reflecting credits and debits in the balance of payments with movements in the value of the Australian dollar.

Australia is the second largest producer of gold in the world. Hence, its currency is also greatly impacted by the value of gold.

Popularity of the Australian Dollar

Currency traders deal in Australian dollars on a large scale due to the following reasons:

  • Australian dollar interest rates have traditionally been relatively high.

  • The Australian government’s intervention is minimal in the foreign exchange market.

  • AUD can be freely imported and exported. However, if the amount imported or exported crosses 10,000 Australian dollars, a declaration needs to be submitted.

  • Relative stability of the Australian political system and economy.

  • The currency traders include the Australian dollar in their portfolio of world’s major currencies, as it offersdiversification benefits. This is due to the fact that the Australian dollar has high exposure to major Asian economies and their commodities cycle.

Australian Dollar Exchange Rate

After the Australian dollar was floated, it reached its highest value against the US dollar in the first 20 years. This figure stood at 96.68 US cents on March 18, 1984. The Australian dollar reached its lowest value of 47.75 US cents in April 2001. It appreciated to a new high of 98.49 US cents on July 15, 2008. In March 2009, 1 AUD was equal to US$0.6785, GBP0.4724 and GBP0.5008.


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