The Australian dollar is trading higher against the US greenback as the market considers the prospects of a US interest rate rise ahead of a highly anticipated speech by US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen.
At 0715 AEST, the local unit was trading at 76.15 US cents, up from 75.96 cents on Wednesday.
Westpac senior market strategist Imre Speizer said the Australian dollar was holding firm as it remains attractive to global investors, especially after UK and Japanese central bank easing.
“The RBA’s (Reserve Bank of Australia) easing bias combined with the Fed’s tightening bias should push the Australian dollar lower towards 0.74 by year end, although recent BOE and BOJ easing have made the currency even more attractive to global investment flows such that a test of 0.78 is possible first,” he said.
The local currency held on to its gains despite disappointing data on Wednesday, when. Australia’s Construction Work data dropped more than expected.
