Spike in the Australian dollar unlikely to be RBA mole

A spike in the Australian dollar just seconds before last month's interest rate announcement is believed to have been the result of automatic computer trading and not the conduct of an internal RBA mole.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched an investigation after the dollar jumped a third of a cent just before the 2.30pm announcement to keep rates at 2.25 percent on April 7.

Eight seconds before the announcement, the dollar was trading at 76.1069 cents. One second later it jumped to 76.2404 cents.

Another second later, it jumped to 76.4055 cents resulting in millions of dollars changing hands before the rate decision was officially known.

In a statement released this morning, the corporate watchdog said its enquiries are "ongoing", with notices being sent to financial institutions to produce relevant trading information.

However, despite sending out the letters ASIC's initial findings suggest the spike was not a result of human misconduct.

"Preliminary findings reveal moves in the Australian dollar ahead of the announcement to be as a result of normal market operations in an environment of lower liquidity immediately ahead of the RBA announcement," ASIC said in a statement.

"The reduction in liquidity providers is a usual occurrence prior to announcement in all markets. Much of the trading reviewed to date was linked to position unwinds by automated trading accounts linked to risk management logic and not misconduct".