Economy

Forget the performance of our national sporting teams, the Aussie dollar has become the symbol of Australian superiority for the entire country. The celebrations surrounding the benefits of the high Australian dollar are almost overshadowing the pride we have in celebrating our national day this week.

Australians are traipsing the world as if they own it and, with the value of the currency at the moment, they almost can. It has never been cheaper to buy foreign goods or travel overseas as it is today.

It’s remarkable. Over the last 2 years the Australian dollar has appreciated 17 per cent against the US dollar, 8 per cent against the English pound, and a whopping 33 per cent against the Euro. That means your spending money goes a third further in Europe than it did 2 years ago. It means any imports that valued in US dollars are now 17 per cent cheaper than they were 2 years ago.

To put all this in perspective, the long term average of the Australian dollar against the green-back is in the mid to high 70 US cents. At around the current $1.03 it is so far above the historic average that many currency gurus are saying take advantage of it while you can, because it won’t last.

But when that fall back to the historic average comes is anyone’s guess. In the mean time be aware of what drives the value of our currency and when those drivers start to falter you’ll know when that drop is coming.