PERTH: The Australian dollar shot up on Wednesday morning after consumer price index data showed inflation had raised in the March quarter.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Australia’s consumer price index rose 0.2 per cent, the same level of inflation recorded in the December quarter last year.
After trading at about US77.2¢ just before the announcement, the Aussie shot up to 77.57¢ 10 minutes later.
Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s last board meeting, released yesterday, suggested it wanted to consider the latest inflation figures before deciding whether to further cut interest rates,
and those parity parties across the ditch will have to wait – after reaching AU99.54¢ at about 7am on Wednesday morning, the New Zealand dollar plunged to AU99¢.
The Aussie stabilised against the greenback overnight, and is set to react to an announcement of the official inflation rate this morning after dropping as low as US76.86¢ the day before.
A speech by Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens, and Tuesday’s release of the minutes of the RBA’s last board meeting pushed the value of the Aussie down.
