Australia became the first of the G20 nations to raise interest rates yesterday, having previously slashed them to prevent economic meltdown. The country moved its reserve rate from a 49-year low of 3% to 3.25% - amid "evidence the recovery is gaining momentum", said Daniel Hauk on Bloomberg.
The move took the markets by surprise (even although it was heavily flagged in the local press earlier this week so much for market efficiency). The excitement at this very visible sign of recovery helped drive markets higher across the board.
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