Business Insider Australia today (4/3) reported that Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) is investigating suspicious Australian Dollar trading prior to RBA interest rate announcement yesterday.

Business Insider Australia today (4/3) reported that Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) is investigating suspicious Australian Dollar trading prior to RBA interest rate announcement yesterday. Subsequent reports by Australian media hinted into possible leaks of market sensitive data similar to what has happened a year ago in which an employee of National Australia Bank (NAB) and an official of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) were arrested by Australian Federal Police (AFP) on charges of forex insider trading.

Australian regulatory agency ASIC

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has verified that the interest rate decision was published in accordance with the correct procedures. However, some brokers apparently noticed a spike upwards in the dollar around 30 seconds before the decision made public. Australian news.com noted that Westpac chief currency strategist Robert Rennie described the dollar's bounce as 'curious', and IG Markets strategist Evan Lucas called the move 'suspicious'. The official announcement in which the RBA decided to keep rates unchanged, sent Australian Dollar soared against US Dollar.

RBA spokesman has also said that ASIC has been notified and is looking into the matter. ASIC, on its part, confirmed that they are reviewing it, but will not providing running update.

In the forex market where every seconds and every points counts, investors usually avoid opening big trades just seconds before a scheduled announcement made public to prevent unnecessary losses. Therefore, the fact that there is noticeable movement just seconds before announcement warrant suspicions on the authorities part. But it is also possible for news traders to place their positions just seconds beforehand, or for trading signals that utilize key moments to sent signals at that period. Investigations into this matter certainly will not be easy.