Why the Aussie dollar isn’t a ‘whipping boy’ any more

March 9, 2026 — 2:00am

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Something unusual has been happening to the Aussie dollar lately: it’s been bucking its reputation for flying high in the economic good times, while plunging when investors get jittery.

At the same time, many market experts predict the currency will remain fairly strong – about US70¢ or higher – for a while yet.

Will these forecasts prove accurate? The honest answer is: “Who really knows?” Any number of things around the world can move exchange rates, which means predicting their movements can be a mug’s game. But even so, there are convincing economic arguments that we should probably get used to a higher Aussie dollar at around these levels of about US70¢ – or slightly higher – for a while yet.

That would not only be good news for people heading on overseas holidays and could also help a bit with our big economic challenge of the day – tackling inflation.

Whether you measure it over 2026 so far, or the past six or 12 months, our currency has had a strong run. At recent levels of about US70¢, it’s come a long way from when it dipped under US60¢ soon after last April’s Liberation Day, when Trump announced his chaotic tariff regime, or from about US65¢ in October. It’s also risen notably against the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound, and New Zealand’s dollar in the past year.

This strength has surprised some observers because in general, “the Aussie” tends to shine when the global economy is doing well, while falling – sometimes sharply –........

© WA Today