The Australian dollar edged higher after taking its lead from rebounding share markets in the Asian region.
At the local close, the dollar was trading at $US0.9011, marginally up from Wednesday’s close of $US0.9006.
CMC Markets foreign exchange dealer Jian Wei said the local currency rebounded in line with Asian and domestic share market on Thursday.
Asian stocks rose for the first time in nine days and the US dollar gained on signs profits are recovering and the US Federal Reserve will reduce stimulus measures as the American economy recovers.
‘‘The Aussie dollar moved back above 90 US cents on the back of the overall Asian market rebound,’’ Mr Wei said.
He said the local currency took its lead from Japan and Hong Kong where domestic share markets rebounded nearly 2 per cent, while the Australian bourse was also firmer.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 0.6 per cent to 4673.3, while Japan’s Nikkei average rose 1.3 per cent on Thursday, with upbeat reports on profits at Honda Motor and Sony Corp adding to momentum from strong earnings at other big name stocks such as Canon.
Mr Wei said the gains helped to support high-yield currencies such as the Australian dollar but there was still uncertainty in the market.
‘‘There has been a sell off on stockmarkets in the last few days, so the market will still be very cautious,’’ he said.
He predicted the local currency would stay around the 90 US cent range in overnight trade as traders examined whether falling metal prices had reached the bottom.
AAP
