The chances of the Reserve Bank cutting the cash rate by 25 basis points in May appear to be getting more likely as the days go by.
Furthermore, some economists believe that a rate rise in the United States is not far away as well. Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) Chief Economist Bill Evans believes that the Federal Reserve is going to raise interest rates at its June meeting.
Moves by central banks have been hard to predict this year. But one thing that isn't hard to predict is the direction the Australian dollar is likely to take if these meetings play out as many expect.
Westpac has forecast the Australian dollar to be down at 70 US cents by September, which is a good 7% lower than where it is sitting right now. This will be great news for a number of companies on the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO), and I would not be surprised to see their share prices climb because of it.
The shares which I believe could become great buys if the Australian dollar depreciates are:
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)
Domino's derives just 31% of its sales from the Australian market. Its operations in Japan accounted for 45% of sales, with the remainder coming from its European operations. If the Reserve Bank does cut interest rates, I would expect the Australian dollar to weaken against both the yen and euro. This should provide a boost to its already explosive earnings growth.
Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC)
Around 60% of Graincorp's sales come from overseas. But the recent strengthening of the Australian dollar has enabled foreign competitors to undercut it. A lower Australian dollar should make GrainCorp's exports much more competitive and help the company grow its top and bottom lines. Since the market started to price in a rate cut in the middle of last week its shares have climbed almost 5%.
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)
Ramsay Health Care has a significant portion of its operations overseas. Thanks to its 124 facilities in France, it derives a third of its revenue from the country. Should the Australian dollar weaken against the euro it will be a significant boost to its already impressive earnings growth. In the last 10 years the company has grown its earnings by an average of 17% per year, and this is expected to ramp up to 21% per year through to 2018.
Foolish takeaway
While rate cuts should cause the Australian dollar to weaken, it is by no means a guarantee. Both the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand have cut rates this year only to find their currencies eventually strengthen. But if it does have the desired effect then these three shares should prosper.
