Over the 2 months leading up to the introduction of the Reserve Bank's package of policy measures in November, Australian interest rates declined relative to those abroad and the Australian dollar depreciated by 5 per cent in trade-weighted terms (Graph 4).
The policy measures have placed, and continue to place, downward pressure on the Australian dollar, including the extension of the bond purchase program announced in February. Graph 4  Since early November, however, other factors have contributed to an appreciation of the Australian dollar, which is currently around the upper end of its range of recent years.