The following article was originally published at the ForexCT web site.

The Australian dollar (currency code AUD)is divided into 100 cents and has been the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia since 14 February 1966. This includes Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island, the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu.

The Australian dollar is normally abbreviated with the dollar signs $, A$, $A, $AU or AU$ to differentiate from the other dollar-denominated currencies. Sometimes it is affectionately referred to as the "Aussie battler" and during a low period in 2001 & 2002 the currency was also referred to as the "Pacific Peso".

Currently, the Australian dollar is the sixth-most-traded currency in world foreign exchange markets (behind the U.S. dollar, the euro, the yen, the Pound sterling, and the Swiss franc), and accounts for approximately 4-5% of foreign exchange transactions worldwide.

The Australian dollar is popular with currency traders because of the relative lack of government intervention in the foreign exchange market, the stability of the economy and government as well as the general view that it offers diversification advantages in a portfolio containing the major world currencies (especially because of its greater exposure to Asian economies and the commodities cycle).

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