CURRENCY traders are used to hanging off every last word uttered by dour central bankers, not rural independents.
But as the finale to the federal leadership stalemate played out yesterday, the all-powerful politicians dubbed the ''three amigos'' briefly commanded the gaze of foreign exchange markets, sending the dollar on a wild ride.
Bob Katter, a far north Queenslander who is openly suspicious of the financial markets, triggered a sharp mid-afternoon spike in the currency when he declared at 2pm he was backing Tony Abbott.
This raised the prospect of no more mining tax - and more profits in the pockets of the country's resources giants. However, these market hopes quickly faded as investors wondered why Katter was going it alone. Speculation spread that he disagreed with fellow independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, who would give Labor the numbers it needed.
Dealing rooms briefly turned away from the live feed from Canberra at 2.30pm, when the Reserve Bank said it would leave interest rates on hold, at 4.5 per cent. This gave the dollar another nudge down.
But the main event was politics, and within minutes of Windsor's announcement that he would support Labor, the currency continued its slide, before bumping up and down during Oakeshott's lengthy speech.
With ''stability'' the buzzword, it's a safe bet markets will keep listening closely to what the independents have to say.
