Forex News: Reserve Bank of Australia raised their core Interest Rate to 3.25%

Skirting widespread speculation, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised their core interest rate by a quarter basis point to 3.25%.

The move put Australia in front of all other Western nations, making them the first to raise rates amidst the current economic crisis and sent the Aussie on an upward tear through Forex Online pairs.

The rate hike also helped spur on stock markets across the globe as optimism grew that the global economy was recovering.

At 12:05AM GMT, the Australian Dollar was trading up 1.53% against the US Dollar to a 14 month high of .8904, up 1.25% to the Euro to 1.653, up .76% against the Canadian Dollar to .9433 and up .33% versus the Japanese Yen to 79.06.

Dollar take another hit after G7 confirms trader doubts on Dollar Viability

USD

The Dollar began this week as it ended last, on a down note after a weekend meeting of Finance Ministers and Secretaries from the Seven (G7) wealthiest nations highlighted the street’s view that the world’s financial policy makers are also foresee a gradually weakening Dollar. T

he meeting was seen as tense as conflicting views between China and the US continued to dominate the headlines. The Dollar was also hurt by a bounce in US and global stocks, which rose for the first time in four sessions and further reduced the need for a safe-haven currency.

At 11:50PM GMT, the US Dollar was down .2% to the Euro to 1.4651, down .04% to the Japanese Yen to 89.53 down .03% against the British Pound Sterling to 1.5938, down .63% to the New Zealand Dollar to .7305 and down .41% against the Canadian Dollar to 1.5681.

AUD

The Australian Dollar rose fast across the board, after two prominent Aussie journalists speculated that Australia's Central Bank could raise their core interest rates to 3¼% from a record low 3% this Tuesday's, as the Reserve Bank of Australia meets.

Still, many in the Forex market expect that the RBA will hold off this month and make the rate hike in November. Nonetheless, traders felt positive and boosted the Aussie.

At 12:00PM GMT, the Australian Dollar was up 1.1% to the US Dollar to .8777, up .3% to the Euro to 1.6687, up .45% to the Canadian Dollar to .9395, and up .06% to the New Zealand Dollar to 1.2009.

Dollar Falls as US Economy Shows Signs of Life

The US Dollar was lower against most of the major currencies on Wednesday, after a mixture of reports suggested that the US economy was edging closer to a recovery.

The first and most significant of these reports was a revised GDP report for the second quarter which showed that the US economy shrank, although at a slower rate than initially projected.

Last month, the US commerce department announced the economy fell at a rate of 1% in quarter 2, however Wednesday that number was revised upwards to .7%.

Other data contributing to the Dollar’s performance in the Forex market was a revised ADP employment service report for August which shaved 21,000 unemployed people off the list, from an initial 298,000 to a revised 277,000 job cuts.

Also, September’s initial numbers came in at 254,000, the smallest decline in the job market since the summer of 2008. The ADP numbers show the performance of private sector payrolls.

The US Labor Department will release its September payroll figures on Friday morning. The statistics are considered more comprehensive because they include both the private and public sectors.

It is expected to show the labor market's rate of deterioration slowing, with analysts forecasting a loss of 180,000 jobs in September versus 216,000 in August.

At 10:30PM GMT in Forex Charts, the US Dollar was off .22% to the Euro to 1.4633, down .11% against the Japanese Yen to 89.78, down .32% versus the British Pound Sterling to 1.6005, down .13% to the Canadian Dollar to 1.0686, down .15% to the Australian Dollar to .8839 and down .09% against the Swiss Franc to 1.0361.