The Australian dollar dips to its lowest in almost three years amidst sluggish approval rates of home-loans resulting to the weakening of its borrowing costs.
The currency fell the worst among 15 of its major peers. Australia's interest-rate advantage is said to have been narrowed by the Federal Reserve's reduction of stimulus this year. In comparison, the Australian Dollar and New Zealand Kiwi dollar slid past the Japanese currency. Recently, the Bank of Japan maintained its monetary policy, and is looking to keep it unchanged.
"Housing is the one area most likely to make up for the mining investment downturn, and it's disappointed," said new foreign exhange strategist Joseph Capurso. "You've got to say that the Aussie's going to keep on falling," he added. Capurso works for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Approvals for home-loans in Australia rose to only a maximum of 0.8 percent in January. Bloomberg analysts predict that approval rates would rise by 2%.
Join the Conversation