Australian Dollar / New Zealand Dollar - AUD/NZD

On the Forex, the fluctuations and the external value of the Australian dollar (AUD) and the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) depend on the farm raw material exchange rates; it is even truer for the New Zealand national currency which farm exports represent nearly 40% of all the exports of the country; nevertheless on the Australian side, the world gold rates have a central importance, since Australia is the third world gold producer, after South Africa and the United States.

The New Zealand and Australia main trade partner’s economic health clearly influences the value of the AUD (“Aussie”) and of the NZD (“Kiwi”). The partners are mainly Asian (Japan, South East Asia country, China).

La politique de taux d’intérêt des banques centrales australienne et néo-zélandaise a également une importance dans la valeur externe de leurs monnaies respectives, et de nombreux points communs réunissent ces politiques.

Ainsi ces deux banques centrales ont-elles mené parallèlement, en particulier de 2004 à 2008, période de hausse des cours des matières premières, une politique de taux d’intérêt directeurs élevés visant à limiter l’inflation et conduisant à une appréciation des deux monnaies face aux autres devises du monde, en particulier le dollar américain.

About the AUD/NZD fluctuations, we have observed since 2004 a certain number of occasional movements of fast appreciation of the Australian Dollar against the New Zealand dollar which never exceed +15% to +20% won in few months; it was more evident than the adjustments which favored the Kiwi. The Australian central bank seems to take the decisions in relation with the key interest rates.

With a AUD/NZD= 1.10 by the end of 2004, the cross fluctuated between this exchange value and the value AUD/NZD=1.05 until 2005.  Then the Australian Dollar clearly appreciated until AUD/NZD= 1.23 until July 2006, as the adjustment in favor of the New Zealand dollar needed time (AUD/NZD=1.10 in June 2007).

A new increase of the Australian dollar ( AUD/NZD = 1.26 in June 2008) was followed by an adjustment which was faster but measured (AUD/NZD= 1.12 in September 2008 so -11% in few weeks); before the Australian dollar took advantage against the Kiwi in the context of the world financial and stock-exchange crisis when the Australian central bank maintained its key interest rates at a very high level (according to all the great central banks) of 3% and the Australian central bank even increase its rates in October, then in November 2009 at 3.5%.

With AUD/NZD= 1.28 during the first quarter of 2009, we have AUD/NZD= 1.2786  by the end of November 2009.

The New Zealand central bank also decided to increase its key interest rates, but it wasn’t in effect at the end of the Fall of 2009.