Australian dollar

The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independentPacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. Within Australia it is almost always abbreviated with the dollar sign ($), with A$ or AU$ sometimes used informally to distinguish it from otherdollar-denominated currencies. It is subdivided into 100 cents.

The Australian dollar is currently the sixth-most-traded currency in the world^[1] foreign exchange markets, (behind the US dollar, the euro, the yen, the pound sterling, and the swiss franc), accounting for over 6% of worldwide foreign-exchange transactions. The Australian dollar was popular with currency traders due to high interest rates in Australia (but within the last year there has been a gradual decrease in the IR to 3% in August 2009), the relative freedom of the foreign exchange market from government intervention, the general stability of Australia's economy and political system, and the prevailing view that the Australian dollar offers diversification benefits in a portfolio containing the major world currencies, especially because of its greater exposure to Asian economies and the commodities cycle.