This year the Australian dollar has — on a couple of occasions — managed to poke its head above US$1.05, with the most recent such occasion being around the 11 April.
However, since April, it's been downhill for our dollar. Today, the Australian dollar is buying around US$0.92.
This has justifiably led to investors analysing which companies should do better in a weaker Australian dollar environment. Three companies regularly selected for benefiting are pallet pooling company Brambles (ASX: BXB), biotech CSL (ASX: CSL) and global insurer QBE Insurance (ASX: QBE).
A quick look at a chart of each company's share price performance shows that there is good reason to identify US dollar exposure. In a period in which the Australian dollar has lost 11.5% of its value against the US dollar, Brambles, CSL and QBE have all outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO). While the index has lost about 6% in the last 3 months, QBE has gained an impressive 18%, Brambles nearly 10%, while CSL has turned in a flat result.
Foolish takeaway
Identifying investment themes can be a great way to find stocks which will outperform the market. The theme of the Australian dollar weakening and potentially returning to its long-run historical average is a theme that could be well worth pursuing.
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More reading
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Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur owns shares in QBE Insurance.
