Australian dollar hits 7-month low, kiwi just above a 19-month trough

The Australian dollar weakened to $0.6838 on Thursday, its lowest level since March, while the New Zealand dollar traded at $0.5569, close to a 19-month low. Business Recorder reported that the Aussie was down 0.1% on the day after a 0.3% decline on Wednesday, while the kiwi had fallen 0.8% in the previous session.

A stronger US dollar and a broad stock-market selloff added pressure to the Australian currency, which was near a support level of $0.6834. In wider currency trading, the US dollar remained near a 19-month high as markets priced in a 10% chance of a 50-basis-point Federal Reserve rate increase next month. The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep its 4.85% rate unchanged until the second half of 2027, while New Zealand’s central bank is widely expected to raise rates to 3% in December.