Australian securities regulators are investigating a possible leak ahead of the release of recent interest rate decisions by its central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said today that it will “investigate a spike in the Australian dollar shortly before the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy decision today.”
The regulator says that its investigation will look at trading in the currency prior to the release of the central bank’s statement detailing its latest interest rate decision, which left its benchmark rate at 2.25%, and indicating that further easing may be warranted in the months ahead amid weak economic growth and falling commodity prices.
The ASIC says that it is also investigating foreign exchange movements shortly before the RBA rate decision announcements in February and March.