By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The Australian Dollar lifted to near 2-week highs of 0.7406 against the U.S. Dollar on Tuesday after policymakers at the Reserve Bank of Australia surprised market participants as they held firm on their current tapering timeline, despite protracted lockdowns across the country, citing a stronger than expected economic recovery from previous lockdown periods. Officials maintained the current cash rate at 0.1% and will continue to purchase government securities at the rate of $5 billion a week until early September and then $4 billion a week until at least mid November.
On the coronavirus front, New South Wales reported 199 fresh cases, with 50 of those active in the community while infectious, while Victoria reported 4 cases, all of which were linked to known outbreaks and were in quarantine for their infectious period. Meantime, Queensland added 16 fresh cases amid a rapidly growing cluster spreading throughout Brisbane schools.
On the bond markets, the local 10-year bond yield eased to near 6-month lows 1.164% while US 10-year rates were at 1.181%.