AUD/USD Historical Chart
The AUD/USD spot exchange rate from 2006 onwards. The single most important currency cross for every Australian-resident investor: it drives the AUD value of US-listed equity, US-listed ETFs, Bitcoin USD, gold USD, and any prop firm USD account. Refreshed from Yahoo Finance twice a day, with the last good data kept if the source is unreachable.
Chart
AUD/USD spot rate from 2000 onwards (USD per AUD). Hover for exact daily values. Click Fullscreen for a presentation-grade view.
What drives AUD/USD
Three primary drivers and one secondary:
- Rate differential (RBA vs Fed). The single strongest driver over multi-month windows. A wider RBA-Fed gap (RBA higher) attracts capital flows into AUD-denominated fixed income and supports the currency. The Fed cut from 5.33 to 3.64 percent between September 2024 and December 2025, which narrowed the gap and helped the AUD recover into 2026; the Fed then raised rates to 3.88 percent in September 2026 (FRED daily effective rate).
- Commodity prices. Australia exports iron ore, metallurgical coal, LNG, and rural products. Higher commodity prices = higher AUD terms of trade = stronger AUD. Iron ore is the single biggest commodity driver.
- Global risk appetite. AUD is a high-beta risk currency. It rallies with the S&P 500 and BTC in risk-on regimes; it falls during risk-off episodes. The 2008 GFC saw AUD/USD fall from 0.98 to 0.60 in three months. The COVID shock took it from about 0.66 in early March 2020 to a 0.574 close on 20 March (about 0.55 intraday) before it recovered.
- (Secondary) China growth expectations. China is Australia's largest export destination. China growth shocks transmit to AUD via the commodity-export channel. A meaningful but smaller driver than the three above.
AUD/USD cycle history since 2000
| Period | Move | AUD/USD range | Macro backdrop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-2001 | Down | 0.66 to 0.48 | Dotcom-era USD strength, commodity bust, weak AU economy |
| 2001-2008 | Up | 0.48 to 0.98 | China commodity supercycle, RBA hiking, USD weak |
| 2008 | Down | 0.98 to 0.60 | GFC, risk-off, commodity prices collapse |
| 2009-2011 | Up | 0.60 to 1.11 | Post-GFC commodity recovery, peak iron ore prices, RBA above Fed |
| 2011-2015 | Down | 1.11 to 0.69 | Iron ore price collapse, China growth slowdown, USD reserve currency demand |
| 2015-2019 | Range | 0.67 to 0.81 | Sideways drift, gradual Fed normalisation, RBA mostly on hold |
| Feb-Mar 2020 | Down | 0.67 to 0.57 | COVID emergency, risk-off, AUD as proxy for global growth |
| 2020-2021 | Up | 0.57 to 0.80 | Fed QE infinity, commodity rally, AUD reflation trade |
| 2022-2024 | Down | 0.76 to 0.62 | Fed hiked faster than RBA, USD reserve demand, China deflation |
| 2025-2026 | Down, then up | 0.60 to 0.73 | April 2025 tariff shock low, then a recovery to a May 2026 high after the Fed's 2024-25 cuts |
Why AU traders watch AUD/USD constantly
- US equity exposure. Most AU portfolios hold significant US-listed ETF allocations (VTS, IVV, NDQ, BetaShares NDQ, SPDR S&P 500). Returns are denominated in USD and converted to AUD on disposal or distribution. A 10 percent US-equity rally with a 5 percent AUD/USD decline is about a 15.8 percent AUD return; with a 5 percent AUD/USD rally it is about a 4.8 percent AUD return. The currency layer is regularly the dominant return component over 12-month windows.
- Bitcoin and gold AUD value. Both BTC and gold are USD-denominated globally. AUD-resident holders pick up USD return plus AUD/USD move. Worth tracking AUD/USD positioning when sizing BTC AUD or gold AUD exposure.
- Prop firm USD accounts. Most FTMO-style prop firms denominate accounts and payouts in USD. A successful AUD-resident trader's AUD-equivalent profits are sensitive to AUD/USD when payouts are converted home.
- Forex trading. AUD/USD is the dominant trading pair on any Australian-resident forex account. Major broker spreads are tightest on AUD/USD (typically 0.5-1.0 pip on raw-spread accounts). The pair has high liquidity, regular volatility, and is sensitive to both RBA and Fed releases.
- Travel and overseas spending. The most-watched AU consumer financial number after the cash rate.
Methodology
- Source. Yahoo Finance, ticker AUDUSD=X (currency cross).
- Endpoint.
https://query1.finance.yahoo.com/v8/finance/chart/AUDUSD=X?interval=1d(public chart endpoint, no API key required). - Daily reference. Yahoo's daily close field for currency crosses corresponds to the New York close. Other reference points (London close, Sydney close, RBA daily rate) will differ by 5-30 pips on any given day; the difference is irrelevant for charting and macro analysis.
- For ATO tax reporting. Use the RBA daily reference rate per Tax Determination TD 2023/8. Yahoo's reference rate is acceptable for cost-base evidence in audit per the ATO's "reasonable basis" standard, but RBA is the safest reference.
- Linear scale. AUD/USD is a bounded variable (always positive, typically 0.4-1.1). Linear y-axis is the appropriate visualisation; log scale would distort cycle interpretation.
- Refresh and fallback. An automated refresh runs twice a day (07:30 and 13:30 Sydney) and the site rebuilds when the data changes. If Yahoo is unreachable, the last good data is kept.
Related tools
- AUD/USD hedging cost calculator - how much it costs to hedge AUD/USD exposure.
- USD Trade-Weighted Index - the broad USD measure; AUD/USD inverse correlation ~-0.85.
- Fed Funds Rate - the Fed side of the rate differential.
- ASX 200 - the AU equity benchmark.
- S&P 500 with BTC overlay - the US equity reference.
- Gold Spot - USD-denominated commodity tracked alongside AUD/USD.
Frequently asked questions
The spot exchange rate of one Australian dollar in US dollar terms, daily values from May 2006, where the Yahoo series starts. AUD/USD = 0.65 means 1 AUD buys 0.65 USD. Higher values = AUD strength (or USD weakness); lower values = AUD weakness (or USD strength). Australia is a major commodity exporter and a high-beta risk currency, so AUD/USD tends to rally with commodity prices and equity-market risk-on; it tends to fall during US-recession scares and commodity bust periods.
Since 2000, AUD/USD has traded from about 0.4775 (April 2001, dotcom-era USD strength) to about 1.108 intraday (July 2011, post-GFC commodity-driven AUD strength). The chart here uses Yahoo daily closes from May 2006, so its high reads 1.1035 (28 July 2011) and its low 0.5743 (20 March 2020). The 20-year mean of those closes is about 0.79 and the 5-year mean about 0.67. The April 2025 tariff-shock low of 0.5955 (close, 9 April 2025) was the weakest since March 2020. Multi-decade structural drift is sideways to slightly lower as Australia's terms-of-trade peak in commodities passes.
First: the rate differential between the RBA cash rate and the Fed Funds rate. Higher RBA relative to Fed = stronger AUD. Second: iron ore and metallurgical coal prices (commodity exports drive the AUD's terms-of-trade). Third: global risk appetite - AUD is a high-beta risk currency that rallies with the S&P 500 and falls during risk-off episodes. The fourth (smaller) driver: China growth expectations, since China is Australia's largest export destination.
Both Bitcoin and gold are USD-denominated globally. AUD-resident holders of BTC or GOLD ETF pick up the USD return plus the AUD/USD currency move. A 30 percent BTC USD rally with a 10 percent AUD/USD decline is about a 44 percent AUD return - the currency layer is meaningful. Worth tracking AUD/USD positioning when sizing BTC AUD or gold AUD exposure, especially around macro turning points where both BTC and AUD/USD can move sharply in opposite directions.
Yahoo Finance, ticker AUDUSD=X (currency cross), fetched via the public v8/finance/chart endpoint by an automated refresh that runs twice a day (07:30 and 13:30 Sydney time). Yahoo's data is sourced from interbank reference rates and is sufficient for charting and macro analysis. For actual transaction rates use Wise, OFX, or your AU bank's daily rate sheet. For ATO tax reporting use the RBA daily reference rate per Tax Determination TD 2023/8.
The RBA targets the cash rate, not the exchange rate. AUD/USD is allowed to float since 1983. The RBA Governor publishes commentary on the AUD's level via Statement on Monetary Policy quarterly publications and post-meeting press conferences, but the RBA does not intervene to defend a specific level. The market understanding is that the RBA prefers a weaker AUD when the domestic economy is soft (supports exporters) and tolerates a stronger AUD when the domestic economy is strong (helps suppress imported inflation). No formal target.
About the author
