2018 began with the Australian dollar sitting at 1.0980 against the New Zealand dollar. While that first week saw the Aussie dollar climb to a high of 1.1045, it had dipped to 1.0960 by the end of the week. First blood to the Kiwi dollar, then. Would this continue?
The two neighbouring currencies would dance back and forth throughout January. While the Aussie dollar reached 1.1037 on the 30th of the month, it dipped to 1.0941 the following day to finish it. February was a mix of results too, although the Aussie dollar did not look quite as strong as it had to start the year. It fell to a low point of 1.0676 by the 22nd February, before rising to finish the month on 1.0810.
While that was an encouraging moment for the Australian dollar, the Kiwi dollar soon took control in March. That pattern largely continued as the month wore on, and the Kiwi dollar pushed the Aussie dollar back to 1.0662 by the time the month was out. The Australian currency then fell into 1.05 territory throughout April, before recovering somewhat to reach 1.0706 at the end of the month. This clearly marked a turning point between the two currencies. During May, we would see a high point of 1.0945 for the Aussie currency, before falling to end the month on 1.0821. If we glance back to the beginning of the year, though, this is still lower than the opener had been.
And so the months wore on, with the two currencies moving back and forth, creating ups and downs as we went. The Australian dollar got close to the 1.10 mark come the middle of July, achieving an exchange rate of 1.0961 on Friday 13th, no less. Clearly, that was far from unlucky for the Aussie dollar – not so much for its Kiwi counterpart.
So, would the Australian dollar eventually reach the heights of a 1.10 exchange rate? It would, but not until 7th August, the day it finished on 1.1020. Two days later, following a slight dip, it went even higher, finishing on 1.1148. It would not dip below the 1.10 rate again until 22nd August, when it fell to 1.0971.
As we look through the exchange rates we have seen between these two currencies since that point, the Australian dollar has been dancing around the 1.08-1.09 rate for some time. There has been the odd day where it stalled around the 1.07 mark, but these were rarities during the last few months. At the time of writing, the Australian dollar stands at 1.0834 against the New Zealand dollar. That is still below the year’s opening rate, so there is some work to do yet if the Aussie dollar is going to finish the year in a similar state to where it began.