The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) measured the Australian dollar at ¥110.27 against the yen on Oct. 19, up from its previous reference rate ahead of policy meetings in both countries.
The reading was taken around 1 a.m. ET (05:00 UTC), equivalent to about 4 p.m. in Sydney, and compares with ¥109.67 at the same reference time on Oct. 16. FXStreet later reported a spot quote near ¥110.35 at 5 a.m. ET (09:00 UTC).
The RBA increased its cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.60% on Sept. 29. It said another increase remained possible if needed to return inflation to target. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) set a guideline for the overnight call rate of around 1.25% at its Sept. 18 meeting, effective Sept. 24.
Reuters reported after Australian jobs data that market-implied odds of a November RBA increase fell to about 9% from 32%. Those probabilities reflected market pricing, rather than an RBA forecast.
Also on Oct. 19, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported 4.5% year-over-year growth in the third quarter of 2026, compared with 4.3% in the second. China bought 29% of Australia’s goods and services exports in 2025, according to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
The Chinese figures also showed weaker investment. China’s fixed-asset investment was 7.2% lower than a year earlier over January-September 2026. Property development investment declined 20.6% on the same basis over the same period.
RBA Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) Christopher Kent pointed to evidence on Oct. 19 that neutral interest rates are rising in Australia and especially abroad. He identified fiscal spending and investment, including investment related to artificial intelligence, as possible influences. Kent said a higher neutral rate would make a given policy setting less restrictive, while cautioning that estimates of the rate remain uncertain.
The BOJ meets Oct. 29-30, with its decision and outlook due Oct. 30. The RBA meets Nov. 2-3.
