Australian Dollar to Euro Exchange Rate History
The official currency of Australia is the Australian dollar (AUD). Originally a fixed currency, it switched to a managed float arrangement in 1971. By December of 1983, the government had moved the AUD to a free-floating exchange rate policy, with all foreign exchange controls removed. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintains discretionary power and the authority to intervene in the foreign exchange markets, if needed.
Since the Euro (EUR) began circulating as an official currency in 2002, it has traded at a premium against the Australian dollar. Between 2002 and 2015, the AUD traded at a range of 0.4968 to 0.8464 against the euro. The highest point was reached in the summer of 2012, when the eurozone was in the middle of a global recession, causing the euro to weaken against most of the worlds major currencies, including the US dollar and Great Britains pound sterling.
Euro Historically Strong against the Australian Dollar
Between 1999, when the euro was initially adopted and was used in electronic transactions only, and 2002, when the euro officially launched as a currency, dollar-to-euro (AUD to EUR) forex transactions traded with the euro at a premium. However, as the global recession and subprime mortgage crisis spread to the eurozone throughout 2009 and 2010 and investors lost confidence, the Australian dollar began to gain some ground against the euro. In September of 2010, it reached a conversion rate of AUD to EUR 0.7164, its highest valuation since the euros introduction.
The Australian dollar continued its climb against the euro until it reached its peak of 0.8464 in August 2012. During this time the eurozone was in the midst of a weakened economy, lagging growth, high debt levels and the Greek debt crisis. As European officials began to make some moves to shore up the regional economy in late 2012, the euros value began to stabilize, causing the AUD to once again slip in value against the euro.
Australian Dollar Fluctuates Against a Weaker Euro
By the start of 2013, despite continued weaknesses in the Eurozone resulting from political instability, the Greek debt situation, and sluggish growth, the euro had regained some of its value against the AUD, with the dollar trading at 0.6560 by the end of the year. Part of this weakening was due to slower economic growth in Australia, which had begun to cool off in 2011 after several years of high commodities investments. Weakened consumer sentiment and consumption growth, a drop-off in mining investments, and weakening labor markets all contributed to this decline in growth.
Throughout 2014 the AUD conversion rate against the euro fluctuated in a narrow band ranging from 0.6499 to 0.6691. Since January 2015, when the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a plan to purchase 60 billion worth of assets, the euros value against the Australian dollar has once again been trading in a somewhat tight range of between 0.6862 to 0.6935. While the euro has dropped against both the US dollar and pound sterling in early 2015, it has stabilized against the AUD; and this, even as the Reserve Bank of Australia opted not to change interest rates, a sign that the Australian dollar will remain steady in the near-term. The long-term outlook for the AUD, however, points to an overall weakening against the worlds major currencies.