As a citywide lockdown entered its third week, there were signs of the outbreak spiralling, with a record increase of 38 new cases in the last 24 hours
They expect the Aussie to trade with an 80 cent to 85 cent handle within the next six to 12 months, "unless faith in full economic re-opening in a post-vaccine world in H2 2020 proves misplaced".
"We expect the Governor to announce an open ended A$5 billion per week purchase programme to be reviewed later in 2021 to be introduced following the completion of QE2," Evans said.
Australia's regulator said it was open to granting exceptions to aid airlines' recovery, but not at the expense of reducing competition in the long term.
On Wednesday, Assistant Governor Chris Kent reiterated the RBA's lower-for-longer rate view while signalling monetary policy will not be used to control asset price gains.
The Bank of Canada on Wednesday left its key overnight interest rate unchanged at 0.25%, as expected, and said the Canadian economy was proving to be more resilient than anticipated to the second COVID wave and containment measures.
"We've got a great record here. A lot of our guys, this is their home ground so they certainly love playing here, they love being at home, they enjoy the conditions," Paine said.
The news took a toll on safe haven bonds with Australian 10-year futures falling 6 ticks to 98.9600, implying a yield of 1.04% and back toward a recent low at 98.9200.
"If the coal issue with China is resolved early in the new year, it would relax the market in relation to other commodities that are exported to China," Smoling added.