摘要:Movements in major international exchange rates are of particular importance for Australian commodity exports because such changes will influence economic activity in the United States, Japan, and Germany and can therefore impact on demand for Australian commodities. In addition, the majority of Australia's contracts for commodities are in US dollar terms. Changes to fiscal and monetary policies in the United States, Japan and Germany are likely to have accounted for a significant proportion of the movements in international exchange rates in recent years. The possible impact of the US budget deficit reduction program, the implementation of Japan's announced fiscal packages, and German fiscal measures to comply with the Maastricht treaty requirements on the major international exchange rates are investigated in this paper.