The Reserve Bank has repeated its view that the Australian dollar is overvalued.
The minutes of its board meeting on November 4, released on Tuesday, confirm the RBA sees "a period of stability in interest rates" as its "most prudent course", in line with the announcement made after the meeting.
Despite significant falls in commodity prices since January - a key driver of the exchange rate over the long term - the Australian dollar was higher at the end of October against the currencies of Australia's trading partners, the RBA noted.
"Despite the recent appreciation of the exchange rate, the Australian dollar remained above most estimates of its fundamental value, particularly given the further declines in key commodity prices over the course of the year to date," the RBA said.
"As a result, the exchange rate was offering less assistance than would normally be expected in achieving balanced growth in the economy."
This was cited in the minutes as one of the considerations for the RBA's decision to keep interest rates on hold, as widely expected.
It could be interpreted as an attempt to talk down the exchange rate, but similar comments over the past year or so have had little effect.
So it might best be seen as no more than a statement of the obvious, and a reason interest rates are being kept low, to offset the negative impact on the economy of the high exchange rate.
The Australian dollar was trading at 87.24 US cents at 1140 AEDT, up from 87.11 US cents shortly before the release of the RBA's minutes.
