K.L.

After the burst of the tech bubble in 2000, traders went from seeking the highest possible returns to focusing on capital preservation. But since the U.S. was offering interest rates below 2% (and going even lower), many hedge funds and those who had access to the international markets went abroad in search of higher yields. Australia, with the same risk factor as the U.S., offered interest rates in excess of 5%. As such, it attracted large streams of investment money into the country and, in turn, assets denominated in the Australian dollar.

Kathy Lien