Surging Australian dollar set to keep rising as rate increases near

The Australian dollar has smashed through the US70¢ barrier for the first time in three years, as a “perfect storm” of a crumbling greenback and hot domestic inflation fuels bets of an interest rate rise next week.

The local currency reached a high of US70.22¢ on Wednesday, a level last seen in February 2023, having gained almost 5 per cent this year – the second-best performing among a basket of the 10 most heavily traded global currencies. While it paused just under US70¢, foreign exchange strategists say the next big target is the February 2023 top of US71.60¢.

Source: https://www.afr.com/markets/debt-markets/surging-australian-dollar-set-to-keep-rising-as-rate-hikes-near-20260128-p5nxjp