By: Barbara Zigah
With the euphoria over the news of the al-Qaeda leader’s death now beginning to wane, the U.S. Dollar is hovering close to the 3-year low struck last week. As reported at 2:27 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index was at 73.153 .DXY, up .28%, yet just off the 72.722 .DXY low struck last week in New York. Analysts insist that, given the ultra-loose monetary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve, it’s only a matter of time before the Index breaches the all-time low of 70.698 .DXY, which was established in March 2008.
The Australian Dollar, considered a high risk currency, has become popular among investors who recently helped send the Aussie higher against the U.S. Dollar to $1.1011, the highest price in 29 years. In earlier Asian trading today, the Aussie edged lower to $1.0929, as market players await the outcome of the RBA’s policy setting meeting. Most analysts agree that the central bank will leave rates unchanged, but will closely scrutinize the tone of the announcement for a key to likely direction given last week’s inflation report, which was higher than expected. If the RBA sounds hawkish on inflationary pressures, analysts say the barrier of $1.11 is likely to fall.