A new study suggests that if Australia’s current economic boom continues, it will soon be worth an estimated $1,600 per ounce of gold and $2,600 for silver.
The Australian dollar has been gaining on other major currencies, like the British pound and Japanese yen.
It rose against the US dollar in late February but it then lost its gains to fall back.
Now, analysts are warning that the country’s future may be defined by the US’s interest rate hike and other economic turmoil.
A key question is whether the rise in the dollar would push up prices of goods and services.
Key points: The rise in Australian dollar was largely due to the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates on June 15, with a gradual easing expected to last for the next few months.
In a sign of the dollar’s strength, a recent report found that if the US does not act soon, it could raise interest rates by $1.5 trillion over the next two years.
The rise was largely driven by the Fed’s decision last week to cut its key interest rate to a record low of 0.25% from its current rate of 0% as part of the “quantitative easing” program, which includes a raft of measures aimed at stimulating the economy.
It comes amid concerns about the economy, which has been hit hard by the collapse of the mining sector and the global recession.
“We are looking at a very different economy,” said Chris Wilson, head of commodities research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
“We are not looking at an economy that has a lot of volatility.
Australia has always been a big consumer of the US currency, and there are people here who really like the US.
But the recent fall in the US has been really dramatic, and we are beginning to see a decline in consumer confidence.”
Mr Wilson said the US had become a “sideshow market” for Australian exports, and the dollar was no exception.
A weaker US currency would also affect Australian imports from other countries.
Mr Wilson says that the biggest threat to the Australian economy is the continued slide in the global economy.
He points to a recent survey from the OECD that found the US economy is slowing, with consumer confidence down, manufacturing and investment down, and job creation at its lowest level in almost a decade.
Mr Wilson believes the economy will not get back to pre-crisis levels until after the next election in 2018.
The Bank of Australia has warned the economy is “on track” to grow by 3.5% this year and that the global economic slowdown is likely to have a significant impact on the economy over the long term.
This is the first time that the Australian currency has risen above $US1,000 since 2007.
In a recent article, Mr Wilson described Australia’s economic prospects as “anemic” and the country has a “very fragile” outlook for the rest of this decade.
He said the “siege of the Australian monetary system” would be “devastating”.
“In the next 12 months, we will be in a position to lose about $1 trillion of our GDP, which is a very bad economic outcome,” he said.
“[We will be] losing about $700 billion of wealth, which I think is quite significant.”
In the run up to the US Federal Reserve meeting, the Australian government has warned that a significant rise in interest rates would have a “catastrophic impact” on its economic prospects.
While it said the Federal Government had the right to increase interest rates, it said that it did not want to do so until the Australian Government was satisfied that the US monetary policy was working.
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