AUD/USD Australian Dollar / United States Dollar

Interesting facts

The Australian dollar is commonly referred to as the Aussie. The AUD has grown in popularity over the past few years since it tends to have a higher yield than many other currencies in the developed markets, making it attractive for traders looking for yield. Additionally, it also tends to attract attention because of its strong links to commodities, as Australia is a large commodity exporter, and consequently their growing trade relations with Asia. As such, the AUD is also known as one of the major commodity currencies. AUD/USD is the most popular of the AUD crosses.

Price drivers

The Aussie can be influenced by several macroeconomic factors, such as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raising or lowering interest rates, GDP, employment figures, trade balance and inflation data. Rhetoric/comments from Australia’s central bank officials can also have a significant impact on the Aussie. The AUD/USD also tends to have a higher beta and is therefore more sensitive to rising or falling equity and commodity prices compared to other crosses. Consequently, traders will want to keep a close eye on the S&P500 in the US as well as the prices of gold and copper as they have a high positive correlation with AUD/USD.