The Australian dollar has hit parity overnight with the US dollar for the first time since 1982. The last time the exchange rate was at parity, Malcolm Fraser was prime minister, Ronald Reagan occupied the White House, the Falklands War had just ended,
Split Enz’s ”Six months in a leaky boat” was topping the music charts and the Reserve Bank of Australia controlled the value of the Aussie dollar.
The dollar has threatened to breach the parity mark for several weeks amid speculation US authorities will move to deliberately drive the greenback lower in a bid to reignite growth in the faltering American economy.
The Aussie reached as high as $US1.0003 at 23.18 AEDT, before pulling back to stand at 99.14 US cents shortly after midnight and then easing to 98.84 US cents by the end of the week’s trading.
