The Australian dollar reached the highest level in five months against its US counterpart as fundamental data was positive all around the world, leading to a rally of stocks.
An expansion of manufacturing in Europe contributed a great deal to the positive mood among Forex traders, but was far being from the only source of optimism. US manufacturing also grew, even though less than was forecast. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index followed the trend, showing an advance and making economists a pleasant surprise as they were expecting a decline. All in all, there were plenty of signs that the condition of the global economy isn’t as bad as was perceived.
Stocks reacted to the economic data and the reaction was definitely positive. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of stocks gained 1 percent today. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 0.9 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose as much as 2 percent yesterday.
AUD/USD traded at 1.0730 as of 6:31 GMT today, following the advance from 1.0707 to 1.0756 (the highest since September 1), while EUR/AUD dropped from 1.2290 to 1.2280 after falling to 1.2263, the lowest price since January 17. AUD/JPY rose from 81.57 to 81.69, while earlier it climbed to 81.87.
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