Australian Dollar rises after reserve bank cuts official cash rate, major central banks pledge to support economy

Australian Dollar rises after reserve bank cuts official cash rate, major central banks pledge to support economy

The Australian Dollar rose on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) slashed its official cash rate (OCR) by 0.50% to 25 basis points.

The Australian Dollar rose by 0.2% to 0.6553 by 11:35 PM ET (03:35 GMT). Meanwhile, the New Zealand Dollar traded 0.1% higher to 0.6266, keeping the U.S. dollar index steady at around 97.328.

With the piling risks of the global economy being hit by the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S Federal Reserve issued a statement, pledging to act “as appropriate to support the economy”. The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England also issued the similar statement shortly following the Fed.

G7 finance ministers and central bank governors around the world are due to hold a conference call soon in order to discuss measures in stabilizing global markets largely hindered by the virus outbreak.