The Australian dollar is the fifth most traded currency in the world and is popular with currency traders, because of the high interest rates in Australia, the freedom of the foreign exchange market from government intervention, the stability of Australia's economy and political system, and the view that the Australian dollar offers diversification benefits in a portfolio containing the major world currencies, especially because of its greater exposure to Asian economies and the commodities cycle.
The currency is commonly referred to by foreign-exchange traders as the "Aussie dollar".
AUD News, Forecasts and Trends
Westpac have raised their forecast for the Aussie dollar to US 72 cents by the end of 2020 (from US 68 cents) and rising to US 76 cents in 2021.
In the second quarter of 2020 AUD staged a rapid recovery through the months of April, May and into June up 25% from its mid-March lows to US70c in early June. This is due more to the perceived benefits to Australia of an awakening post-pandemic Chinese economy than the political-social situtation in the US dpressing the USD.
The Aussie had been savaged in March sliding to US55 cents the lowest since 2003. Growing fears of the coronavirus outbreak moved the market into safer currencies such as the USD and away from AUD, NZD and CAD.
The virus was a double blow to the Aussie after the earlier threat of proxy war between the US and Iran in Iraq had also pared back some of the gains the Aussie had made coming into the New Year.
The Australian dollar had started the new decade strongly climbing to multi-month highs helped along by cooling trade tensions between the United States and China and optimism for global economic growth in the year ahead.
The Aussie broke back over US70 cents on the final day of 2019 — a level not seen since mid year. During December the Australian dollar reversed direction (again) and climbed steadily back up against the US dollar on the back of the strength of the housing market and a market perception that further interest rate cuts were less likely.
For more AUD currency market forecasts you can read the full article Australian Dollar Forecasts. The below interactive chart shows the USD to AUD exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.
Recent USD to AUD 90-day trend
14-DAY-LO 1-DAY▼0.6%
USD/AUD at 1.4409 was trading 4.8% belowAVG:1.5142 with LO:1.4243 and HI:1.6678 (90 days). There are no current rate alerts.
US Dollar to Australian Dollar - Historical Rates
USD/AUD rate
Change
Period
06 Jul 2020 : 1.4335
0.5% ▲
1 Week
13 Jun 2020 : 1.4565
1.1% ▼
30 Days
14 Apr 2020 : 1.5541
7.3% ▼
90 Days
14 Jul 2019 : 1.4252
1.1% ▲
1 Year
15 Jul 2015 : 1.3548
6.3% ▲
5 Years
16 Jul 2010 : 1.1463
25.7% ▲
10 Years
USD/AUD 10 year historic rates & changes to 13-Jul-2020 : 1.4407
Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Christmas Island
Travel money for Christmas Island
Save money and time by Ordering your Australian Dollars online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick
up the AUD cash locally or even on travel day at the airport.
Another popular option is to
use a Pre-paid Travel Card. Your Debit/Credit Card provider will charge you 2% from market mid-rate,
but your bank may also charge an extra 3% as an “Overseas Transaction Charge” plus “Overseas ATM” fees for withdrawing cash.
For card purchases if offered a choice of currencies always select to
Pay in Australian Dollars otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.
Sending money to Christmas Island
When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to Christmas Island you need to start with finding out the latest Australian Dollar exchange rate for foreign-transfers, which can be very different to the wholesale rate.
Then compare your bank's exchange rates to several licensed FX providers exchange rate and fees to see how much
you can save - we make that calculation easy in the below table.
Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Christmas Island
When sending money to Christmas Island it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers.
To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :
Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
You specify the local or Australian Dollar amount you want to transfer
Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
Once your funds are received by the provider the converted AUD amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Christmas Island.
Use the above Send to Australian Dollars calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more -
end result is more Australian Dollars deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!
