- RBA
The Aussie inched lower against the greenback and other major currencies on Tuesday following the release of the RBA's minutes, which reiterated central bank's sourish view towards the exchange rate of the domestic currency. The AUD/USD pair moved 0.12% lower to 0.9074.
Australian policymakers left the key refinancing rate unchanged at 2.5%, pledging a period of stable interest rate. Minutes also showed that record-low interest rate are boosting growth. The central bank now believes that stable interest rates will bring the Aussie lower, providing additional boost to the economy. However, minutes also showed that rates will remain at the current level as long as the economy evolve broadly as expected.
A strength of the Aussie was the major concern for Australian policymakers, and amid recent flow of positive fundamental data, AUD/USD moved back towards uncomfortable levels. The main reason for investors' attention, is a significant improvement in the labour market, as a net 47,300 jobs were added during February, a figure much higher than the estimate of 15,000 jobs. Minutes, however, showed that Federal Minister of Employment is concerned about the state of the labour market, as the wage price gauge climbed only 0.7% in the final quarter of 2013 and was 2.6% higher on the annual basis– the lowest since 1990s.