Aussie dollar treading water

THE Australian dollar is hardly changed against its US counterpart as stronger- than-expected US economic growth figures supported the greenback.

THE Australian dollar is hardly changed against its US counterpart as stronger- than-expected US economic growth figures supported the greenback.

At 0635 AEDT on Friday, the Australian dollar was worth 76.55 US cents, down marginally from 76.57 US cents on Thursday.

The US dollar index rose to a 10-day high on Thursday helped by a combination of technical trading and a theme of strong US economic data.

US gross domestic product grew faster than previously reported in the fourth quarter of last year thanks to robust consumer spending, the Commerce Department said.

Westpac’s Imre Speizer said the Australian dollar initially lifted early in the overnight session, before losing stead. “(The) AUD initially probed higher to 0.7680 but retreated in New York to 0.7652,” he said Friday morning in a note.

“The US dollar index’s recovery extended to its third day, only briefly dented by a report that Trump was looking at punishing currency manipulators.” He said he expected the Aussie dollar to be contained within a 76.00-77.00 US cent range on Friday.

The local currency has gained against the yen and the euro.

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 0635 AEDT ON FRIDAY

One Australian dollar buys:

* 76.55 US cents, from 76.57 on Thursday

* 85.52 Japanese yen, from 85.14 yen

* 71.66 euro cents, from 71.19 euro cents

(*Currency closes taken at 1700 AEDT previous local session)

Originally published as Aussie dollar treading water