The Australian dollar is on a roll, and Australia's treasurer thinks the good times will last for a while.
Wayne Swan, the Australian treasurer, is proud. He's proud that Australia did not go into recession like the rest of the developed world, and he's proud of plans for a government budget surplus in 2012 or 2013, despite some near term economic weakness due to Japan's crisis and Australia's own natural disasters.
He's also pretty proud - or at least optimistic - about the Australian dollar, which he thinks will ride higher commodity prices for some time. "Given the growth in Asia, given the demand in Asia, given the fact that there's a construction boom in Asia which will last for a long time, that will mean that the prices will be permanently higher," he said. "They may not be as high as they are now and they will come off a bit, but they will be historically higher as we go forward." And that can only help the Aussie dollar.
Watch the clip to hear the whole discussion.
