$A will fall at some point: RBA governor

Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens says the Australian dollar will fall at some point, he just doesn't know when.

Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Glenn Stevens

Reserve Bank governor Glen Stevens has blamed the high Australian dollar on foreign investment. (AAP)

The attractiveness of investing in Australia is keeping the Australian dollar high but the currency will fall eventually, Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens says.

The RBA has long expressed concern about the stubbornly high Australian dollar and its impact on economic growth.

In the minutes of its August board meeting, the RBA said the high exchange rate was "offering less assistance than it might in achieving balanced growth in the economy".

Mr Stevens told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that there were multiple reasons why the Australian dollar was still above 90 US cents.

Australia was perceived as attractive by international investors, partly because other countries were less attractive, he said.

"For a whole host of reasons, various forms of capital have found it attractive to come to this country to hold our assets," Mr Stevens said in his semi-annual testimony.

"The gamut of returns on many forms of capital in Australia has been attractive for lots of different kinds of international investors - commercial property, infrastructure assets, government bonds, a whole host of things where the yields we have in play here are attractive to foreigners."

Mr Stevens said the Australian dollar would inevitably go down - he just doesn't know when.

"I think they're underestimating the risk that it'll go down at some point," Mr Stevens said.

"It still strikes me that I can't see the logic for it not being lower at some point than it is today.

"I can't tell you when though."


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