The Aussie dollar spiked one US cent overnight after Fed Chair Janet Yellen doubled down on her dovish comments about a potential US interest rate hike.
Cautious remarks from the US Federal Reserve have helped the Aussie dollar break above 76 US cents.
At 0700 AEDT on Wednesday, the local unit was trading at 76.41 US cents, up from 75.41 cents on Tuesday.
The Aussie dollar spiked one US cent overnight after Fed Chair Janet Yellen doubled down on her dovish comments, ANZ senior FX manager Sam Tuck said.
Ms Yellen said the US central bank still envisions a gradual pace of interest rate increases in light of global pressures that could weigh on the US economy.
‘She stated not only was caution in normalisation exceptionally warranted at the moment, but also that the Fed has room to add stimulus,’ he said.
Westpac economists said the remarks pared back expectations of upcoming tightening, which dragged the greenback lower.
‘Such a cautious stance suggests a rate hike in April is unlikely, and there may now even be question marks regarding June,’ they said.
At 7am on Wednesday 30 March one Aussie dollar was buying:
76.41 US cents, from 75.41 cents on Tuesday*
86.07 Japanese yen, from 85.66 yen
67.65 euro cents, from 67.42 euro cents
111.37 New Zealand cents, from 111.83 NZ cents
53.12 British pence, from 53.01 pence
*Currency closes taken at 1700 AEDT previous local session
AAP
