FED:The Aussie dollar is on the up ... and up

AAP General News (Australia)
04-21-2011
FED:The Aussie dollar is on the up ... and up

By Jason Cadden

SYDNEY, April 21 AAP - The Australian dollar is pushing the 108 US cent mark, driven
by record commodity prices and investor disenchantment with the greenback.

On Thursday the currency hit 107.73, its highest level since it was floated in December 1983.

That means the Australian dollar has gained 10 US cents in just over a month, after
it fell below 97.5 US cents to a four-month low on March 17 following the Japanese earthquake.

In recent weeks, the Australian dollar has received a boost from commodity prices hitting
record levels.

In overnight trade on Wednesday night the gold price rose above $US1,500 an ounce for
the first time ever and silver peaked above $US50 an ounce.

CMC Markets foreign exchange dealer Tim Waterer said another factor in the Australian
dollar's rise was the lack of interest by investors in holding the US dollar.

Mr Waterer said the reluctance by the US central bank to end its economic stimulus
program, called quantitative easing, was also creating US dollar weakness.

"There is quite good confidence in the US economy at the moment but the flipside is
a lot of it is based around US dollar weakness," he said.

A low US dollar would help the economy by keeping exports competitive, Mr Waterer said.

AAP jcc/dlm/was

KEYWORD: DOLLAR FRONTER (WITH GRAPHIC)

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