Declining Australian Dollar Leads to ASX Increase

Shares increased in Australia by 0.3 percent today as firms exposed to the US market benefited from a declining Australian dollar, Reuters reported. The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) gained 15.1 points, hitting 5,180.8. This rise came after the index fell 0.5 percent on May 16.

BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BLT) increased 1.9 percent on the ASX, while Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) increased 1.1 percent. That helped offset a weak lead from Wall Street overnight, Reuters said.

“There’s some short covering going on, particularly in BHP after they were down the last three days,” said Evan Lucas, a market strategist at IG in Melbourne.

The Australian dollar continued to fall as selling against the yen picked up, as did speculation that the US Federal Reserve could taper its asset buying later this year, Reuters noted. The Australian dollar fell as low as 97.33 US cents, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Gold miners continued to fall on the ASX as the price of gold declined. Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) dropped 2.7 percent and Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM,TSX:NM) declined by 2.3 percent.