The Australian dollar, Norwegian krone and New Zealand dollar have surged ahead of other major currencies this year, as foreign exchange markets point to a change in the direction of global interest rates from cuts to rises.
The Aussie has gained almost 6 per cent against the US dollar this year, taking it to around a three-year high, as the Reserve Bank of Australia this month kicked off what many analysts expect to be a new cycle of rate increases in response to a burst of inflation. Traders are expecting one or two further quarter-point increases this year.
The New Zealand dollar has jumped almost 4 per cent as traders anticipate the country’s first rate rise in the coming months, while the krone is up more than 5 per cent, as an unexpected increase in inflation last month led traders to price in a small chance of a rate increase in the first half of the year.