Exchange rates: how the Australian dollar to US dollar rate changes what a US buyer pays for Australian exports and what an Australian pays for US imports

A stronger dollar is a pay rise for importers and a pay cut for exporters

An exchange rate is just a price: how many US dollars one Australian dollar buys. That single number sets what foreigners pay for our goods and what we pay for theirs, and it pulls those two prices in opposite directions. Raise the exchange rate and watch what a US buyer pays for our exports and what we pay for theirs.

Bilateral rate: A$1 in US$ A$1 = US$0.70
Raise or lower the AUD rate. Watch both bars.
Raise or lower the rate
AUD/USD exchange rate0.70
0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00
US buyer pays for A$100 of exports
US$70
Australian pays for US$100 of imports
A$143
What to read

Know This
Appreciation makes our exports dearer abroad and our imports cheaper at home, depreciation does the reverse, and both are read straight off the bilateral rate.