“Looking ahead, the peak in resource investment is drawing close,” the RBA said after leaving overnight cash-rate unchanged at 3 percent, which was predicted by all 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. “There will, therefore, be more scope for some other areas of demand to strengthen.” “Barring offshore shocks, we believe the RBA is in a comfortable position to sit tight for the next couple of / meetings,” said Annette Beacher, Singapore-based head of Asia- Pacific research at TD Securities Inc. TD Securities expects the Australian dollar at $1.05
midyear, according to Beacher.

In New Zealand, commodity export prices gained 7.4 percent in March in local currency terms from the previous month, when they rose a revised 1.1 percent, ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd. Said in a report today. New Zealand's two-year swap rate, a fixed payment made to receive a floating rate, was at 2.87 percent.

Eoin Treacy's view The Continuous Commodity Index has been drifting lower since testing the 600 area in September and will need to sustain a move above 560 to offset potential for continued lower to lateral ranging. The fact that the Index is being led lower by the industrial metal sector increases the potential that mining companies will delay additional investment in capacity growth. For a country such as Australia which has thrived on the resources boom over the last decade this is likely to require a fine balancing act from the RBA.

While the central bank is likely to hold rates steady for the next few months, this still represents an attractive spread from the perspective of foreign investors. The Australian Dollar has been mostly rangebound against the US Dollar since 2011 and bounced from the region of $1 again in March. However a sustained move above $1.07 would be required to begin to suggest a return to medium-term demand dominance.