The exchange rate of the Australian dollar strengthened against the rupiah in trading on Tuesday (4/28/2020) close to the level of Rp 10,000 / AU $ after the regional quarantine policy (lockdown) was relaxed. At 11:40 WIB, the Australian dollar is equivalent to Rp 9,956.24.
According to Refinitiv data, the Australian dollar strengthened 0.57% in the spot market. The Australian dollar continues moving towards its highest level in the last six weeks on this Tuesday. It was triggered by seeing signs of progress in opening lockdowns in various countries.
This strengthening is due to the steps taken amid the global push to restart the economy frozen by the coronavirus lockdown. Australia is one of the countries to be commended for the low mortality rate due to coronavirus disease. From the beginning, Australia has indeed avoided high mortality rates.
Corona Case Improved, The Wheels of The Australian Economy Began to Spin
Until this Tuesday, the number of confirmed cases in Australia is 6,721 people, with 83 dead. That means the death rate is 1.2%. While the number of patients who have recovered reached 5,588 people or 83% of the total cases.
The addition of cases in Australia was already sloping. Last Monday, the number of new cases reported was only 10 people, and the percentage of additional cases under 1% had occurred since 12 April. Therefore, the Australian government began to loosen lockdown, so the wheels of the economy turned again.
Bondi Beach and several other beaches in Sydney began to reopen today. New South Wales, where half of the total number of Covid-19 cases in the state will allow people to visit their homes starting on Friday, as reported by Channel News Asia.
Other states have also begun to relax restrictions on movement. Sydney's famous Bondi Beach reopens for surfers on Tuesday. The wheels of the Australian economy began to turn the currency exchange rate continues to move up after declining in March.
Australian Dollar Movements Against Other Currencies
On March 20, the Australian dollar exchange rate touched the level of Rp 8,479 / SG $, the lowest level since September 2011. Since touching this level, the Australian dollar has continued to strengthen, to date the total increase is more than 17%.
Overnight rose past resistance around $ 0.6445, eventually drifting down to $ 0.6438 and currently below the multi-week peak against the euro, pound, and yen. Unlike Australia, Indonesia is still experiencing an upward trend in the Covid-19 case, although it is somewhat controlled.
Last Monday reported a total of 9,096 cases were reported, with 765 dead and 1,151 cured. The trend of adding cases in Indonesia by one digit percentage since April 13 last. Jakarta, which has become the epicenter, has added cases to a sloping rate.
The pace of the addition of controlled cases has led to two perceptions, the first is the handling of the government that effectively dampens the spread, and the second is the small number of people tested.
Another country like Italy, which has the highest number of deaths in the world due to the coronavirus, will allow factories and other economic activity to re-open on May 4 as the country prepares to end the longest locking in Europe.
And in the USA, the state of Georgia has begun to let restaurants open and let the residents to dine-in. The theaters also open for the public again. Other states like Minnesota, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, etc taking steps to ease restrictions, although health experts warn it may be premature.
Aside from Australia, the currencies of neighboring countries appear to be lackluster. The New Zealand dollar is calm, weighed down by an aggressive attitude especially from its central bank. The Kiwi had experienced an overnight increase and fell to $ 0.5998.
While the pound was stable around $ 1.2424, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned it was too dangerous to relax tight locks in Britain. The Japanese Yen has hovered slightly above 107 yen per dollar and was held at 107.27 on Tuesday. The euro is at $ 1.0832.
