澳币汇率增至新高

The Australian dollar rose to a record high against the US dollar as producer prices beat forecasts, indicating that inflation pressures are still strong.

因生产价格超过预期，澳币对美元的汇率上升至新高，表明通货膨胀的压力依然很大。

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Demand for Australian dollars has been rising as investors look to bring money into the country
It climbed to $1.0764 in trading on Thursday, the highest since the currency was freely floated in 1983.

Producer prices in Australia climbed 2.7% between January and March from the previous year, said the Bureau of Statistics.

Analysts² say interest rates could be set to rise.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept rates unchanged since November at 4.75%.

"Core inflation pressures are more likely to be drifting higher over the coming couple of years, and thus some future moderate rate hikes are appropriate," said Scott Haslem from UBS.

However Australia already has a high interest rate compared with other developed countries.

Further hikes would likely cause investors to put their money into Australian markets.

"Given the wide interest rate differential between Australia and other developed economies like the US and Europe, investors can earn greater yields on Australian assets," said Matthew Circosta of Moody's Analytics in Sydney.