(29 September 2011 – Australia) The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) has reported that the Australian dollar may drop to its lowest level within a year as policy makers struggle to restore market confidence and Europe’s debt crisis threatens global growth.Sydney-based RBS currency strategist Greg Gibbs wrote in a note to clients that the Aussie dollar, which lost 7.5 percent against the US dollar this month, may slide to 93 US cents by December before recovering to 95 in the first quarter of 2012 and US$1.10 in the July-to-September period.
The Aussie has been this year’s worst performer among 10 developed nation peers tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indexes.
“Nerves are raw, patience is low, and room for political maneuvering is narrow,” wrote Gibbs. ‘We still see a high risk that the Australian dollar makes new lows before the year is out.’