Aussie hits six-week highs against sterling

The Australian dollar reached six week highs against sterling yesterday, after the US Federal Reserve surprised markets by offering to buy long term treasury bonds. The radical attempt to stimulate the world’s largest economy caused some optimism about reviving global growth, which would in turn increase demand for Australian commodity based exports. However, sterling continues to be punished by a raft of poor economic news. Employment figures revealed unemployment in the UK passed 2 million, reaching a 12 year high, while the number of people claiming jobless benefits in February jumped by the biggest amount since records began some 30 years ago.