The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including its external territories Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru, and Tuvalu. The Australian dollar was legal tender of Papua New Guinea until 1 January 1976, when the Papua New Guinean kina became the sole legal tender. Within Australia, it is almost always abbreviated with the dollar sign ($), with A$ or AU$ sometimes used to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is subdivided into 100 cents.
In 2016, the Australian dollar was the fifth most traded currency in the world, accounting for 6.9% of the world's daily share (down from 8.6% in 2013). It trades in the world foreign exchange markets behind the US dollar, the euro, the yen and the pound sterling. The Australian dollar is popular with currency traders, because of the comparatively high interest rates in Australia, the relative freedom of the foreign exchange market from government intervention, the general stability of Australia's economy and political system, and the prevailing view that the Australian dollar offers diversification benefits in a portfolio containing the major world currencies, especially because of its greater exposure to Asian economies and the commodities cycle. The currency is commonly referred to by foreign-exchange traders as the "Aussie dollar".