Australian Dollar Rises to One-Month High as RBA Refrains From Cutting Rates
Wednesday, June 8th, 2016
Australia’s dollar rose to a one-month high and bond yields rebounded from the lowest ever as the central bank refrained from cutting interest rates.
The Reserve Bank of Australia left the benchmark rate at a record-low 1.75 percent, as forecast by all but one economist surveyed by news agency Bloomberg. Most expect the central bank to resume easing in August after a quarter-point reduction in May in response to a record-low core inflation reading.
“Last night’s RBA policy statement was judged as lacking an explicit easing bias,” said Jane Foley, a senior currency strategist at Rabobank International in London. “While this assessment has lent the Australian dollar significant support this morning, there are sufficient negative nuances contained within the RBA’s policy outlook to infer that the prospect of an August rate cut remain very strong.”
