Traders send Aussie dollar to almost $US1.02
November 5, 2010 - 10:19AM
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Global rally on stock markets
Bullish investors took control of major stock markets around the world, bolstered by the US Federal Reserve's $600 billion asset purchase plan.
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The Australian dollar has soared to another record, reaching almost $US1.02 in overseas trade as investors absorbed the implications of a massive asset buy-up by the US central bank.
And local stocks have jumped sharply this morning, with the major indices rising about 1.4 per cent in the first few minutes of trade while the Australian dollar continued to command $US1.015
Shortly before 8am eastern-daylight time, the Australian dollar hit a high of $US1.0176 - one dollar and about one and three-quarters of a cent - as the greenback's weakness continued to bolster alternative investments.
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That came as Wall Street marked strong gains as a result of retail sales data as well as the US Federal Reserve's announcement it would start a six-month, $US600 billion process of buying up government bonds as it moves to keep the world's largest economy chugging along.
Many are predicting the Aussie dollar will remain above parity for some time, with fundamentals including commodity prices, with which the Australian dollar is closely linked, also rising sharply overnight.
A key index of commodity prices jumped 2.37 per cent, the oil price hit a six-month high and gold marked a record.
Mike Hollows, New-Zealand-based trading director at currency house HiFX, believes the Aussie dollar could continue to push higher.
“Whether the US policy or not is to weaken their currency, a lot of people think they are looking to weaken their currency,” he said.
“At this point the Aussie looks to hit $US1.025 potentially as high at $US1.05.”
Mr Hollows said that for the time being, there did not appear to be any factors in the global currency market that would push the $A lower.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.96 per cent higher, marking territory not seen since the onset of the global financial crisis triggered by the Lehman Brothers' collapse. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.93 per cent.
The strong rise confounded expectations of a sell-off in the US.
Gabrielle Costa, Chris Zappone, BusinessDay