by Chris Becker
Another major institutional house has slashed their forecast for the plucky Australian dollar, this time Westpac (WBC).
Via Dow Jones News:
The bank said today it now expects the Australian dollar to end 2015 at US66c, down from an earlier forecast of US70c.
“Confidence in Australia and the Australian dollar has been particularly shaken by developments in the emerging markets,” said Westpac chief economist Bill Evans.
“Australia shares certain characteristics with some of the worst performing economies in the emerging world — a sharp and ongoing terms of trade reversal, exposure to China, a widening current account deficit, large offshore borrowings. These factors are an albatross around the Australian dollar’s neck in the present climate .We do not expect the confidence vibe around the Australian dollar to improve for the remainder of this year,” Mr Evans said.
Here are some of the forecasts we’ve had so far in context:
MB leans towards below the displayed range but within the same timeframe. Its been a great ride!