AUD - Australian Dollar

The Australian dollar (currency code AUD) has been, since 14 February 1966, the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $. Alternatively A$ or $A, $AU or AU$ is used to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is sometimes affectionately called the "Aussie battler"; during a low period (relative to the U.S. dollar) around 2001 and 2002 the currency was sometimes locally called the "Pacific Peso". It is divided into 100 cents.

The Australian dollar is currently the sixth-most-traded currency in world foreign exchange markets (behind the U.S. dollar, the euro, the yen, the Pound sterling, and the Swiss franc), accounting for approximately 4–5% of worldwide foreign exchange transactions. The Australian dollar is popular with currency traders due to the relative lack of government intervention in the foreign exchange market, the general stability of the economy and government as well as the prevailing view that it offers diversification benefits in a portfolio containing the major world currencies (especially because of its greater exposure to Asian economies and the commodities cycle).

The Australian dollar was introduced on 14 February 1966, not only replacing the Australian pound (long since distinct from the pound sterling), but also introducing a decimal system.

In 1965 the Prime Minister at the time, Robert Menzies wished to name the currency "The Royal", and other names such as "the Austral", "The Oz", "The Boomer", "The Roo", "The Kanga", "The Emu", "The Digger", "The Kwid" and "Ming" (the nickname of Menzies) were also proposed. Due to Menzies' influence, the name "Royal" was settled upon, and trial designs were prepared and printed by the printing works of the Reserve Bank of Australia. The unusual choice of name for the currency proved unpopular, and it was later shelved in favour of "dollar".

On 14 February 1966 the Australian dollar was introduced at a rate of two dollars per pound, or ten shillings per dollar. In 1967 the Australian dollar effectively left the sterling area for the first time. When sterling devalued in 1967 against the U.S. dollar, the new Australian dollar did not follow. It maintained its peg to the U.S. dollar at the same rate.

Australia maintained a peg to the British pound reflecting its historical ties as well as a view about the stability in value of the British pound. From 1946 to 1971 Australia maintained a peg to the U.S. dollar under the Bretton Woods system, but it was effectively pegged to sterling until 1967. With the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system in 1971, Australia converted the mostly-fixed peg to a moving peg against the U.S. dollar. In September 1974 Australia moved to a peg against a basket of currencies called the TWI (trade weighted index) in an effort to reduce fluctuations associated with its peg to the U.S. dollar. The peg to the TWI was changed to a moving peg in November 1976, causing the actual value of the peg to be periodically adjusted. In December 1983, the Australian Labor government led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating "floated" the Australian dollar. From that point, movements in the Australian dollar continued to reflect the strength of its terms of trade. For decades Australia's reliance upon commodity (mineral and farm) exports has seen the Australian dollar rally during global booms, and fall when mineral prices slumped or when domestic spending overshadowed its export earnings outlook. The currency's high volatility, currency exposure and interest swap has made the AUD one of the most traded currencies in the world, far in excess of the economy's importance (2% of global economic activity).