Australian Dollar to Brazilian Real exchange rates aren't all the same.
The total cost you are charged by your bank or foreign exchange provider consists of a margin from the interbank mid-rate plus fees.
These margins and fees vary significantly for International Money Transfers and Travel Money transactions as shown below.
Exchange rates can vary significantly depending on the transaction type (transfer, cash or card), currency pair and amount. The below table shows an example of total costs charged by FX specialists and banks for AUD/BRL International Money Transfers. Costs are calculated against the current interbank mid-rate.
Example of the margins and possible savings when you order travel money online with a currency specialist rather than in-person from banks and currency kiosks.
When determining the best time to make a foreign exchange transaction, in this case the AUD vs BRL, you should pay attention to the recent market trends for both currencies.
Australian Dollar (AUD)
The RBA dropped interest rates 25 basis points to a record 0.75% on Oct 1 with the Aussie responding with a drop below US67 cents. Investors have sold AUD in recent months as they’ve bet on aggressive interest-rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia. These bets paid off: the RBA cut its cash rate in both June and July to a record low of 1 percent.
Lower borrowing costs are necessary, investors believe, in light of persistently soft domestic data and the fallout from a US-China trade standoff that shows no sign of nearing an end.
AUD will continue to track changes in interest-rate expectations. Economists expect at least one further cut this year and many expect two by early 2020. After July's cut, the RBA hinted it would leave rates unchanged for several months.
Interestingly, AUD has decoupled from commodity prices in 2019. The price of iron ore (Australia’s largest export) nears multi-year highs while AUD languishes.
Further RBA interest rate cuts this year are now a certainty, and that doesn’t bode well for currency valuations. Westpac has predicted three cuts this year.
In late May, the real rallied away from 7-month lows against the dollar and euro. It remains, however, 21 percent and 13 percent lower than early 2018 levels against those currencies.
One of the most accurate currency forecasters of the past year (per Bloomberg rankings), Commerzbank’s You-Na Park, is optimistic about the real. He sees the currency's value rising 10 percent before year-end, from 3.98 per USD at the time of writing to 3.6, although he says that strength is dependent upon government pension reforms being passed (likely in the second half of this year).
Why can't I just get the AUD/BRL market rate I see online or in the media?
The mid-rate is the rate you will see quoted online or the news. It is actually just the half-way point (hence mid-rate) between
the last rate at which the AUD / BRL was traded (bought or sold) in the international markets.
All foreign exchange providers charge a fee for providing their service and this fee is usually contained within the exchange rate margin (or difference to the mid-rate).
Some providers such as Transferwise will quote you the mid-rate (or close to) and charge a separate percentage fee.
Getting a good market rate is mainly about timing however the transaction margin
you end up being charged can be considerably reduced by around a few percent (of total amount being exchanged) for
travel money and possibly over 5% to 6% when sending money.
The exact potential savings depends on the currencies being exchanged and the amount you are transferring and if you are willing to shop around.
Australia (AUD)
Brazil (BRL)
Christmas Island (AUD)
Cocos Keeling Islands (AUD)
Heard And McDonald Islands (AUD)
Kiribati (AUD)
Nauru (AUD)
Norfolk Island (AUD)
Tuvalu (AUD)