‘Bleeding sore’: Why the $A float 40 years ago was such a big deal
It took a lot of nerve to cut the Australian dollar loose, but former PM and treasurer Paul Keating says it was the moment the Australian economy grew up.
Forty years ago this week, market rumours began circulating among international currency traders that Australia’s fixed exchange rate was about to appreciate sharply.
To defend the currency peg against foreign speculators pouring money into Australia, the Reserve Bank of Australia was forced to intervene, buying almost $1.5 billion of foreign exchange in just a few days (about $5.4 billion in today’s dollars).
John KehoeEconomics editorJohn Kehoe is economics editor at Parliament House, Canberra. He writes on economics, politics and business. John was Washington correspondent covering Donald Trump’s first election. He joined the Financial Review in 2008 from Treasury. Connect with John on Twitter. Email John at jkehoe@afr.com
