Dollar continues upward march against USD

THE Australian dollar has continued its confident march toward 80 US cents as the greenback’s weakness lingers with a holiday in the US.

THE Australian dollar has continued its confident march toward 80 US cents as the greenback’s weakness lingers with a holiday in the US.

At 0635 AEDT on Tuesday, the Australian dollar was worth 79.71 US cents, up from 79.54 US cents on Monday.

Westpac’s Imre Speizer says a holiday in the United States has led to the US dollar’s weakness persisting, helped by further relatively hawkish comments from the European Central Bank and risk sentiment remaining firm.

“(The) US holiday (Martin Luther King Day) and limited data releases meant that activity was relatively light, but negative sentiment towards USD (the US dollar) continued,” Mr Speizer said in a morning note. “The US dollar index fell another 0.6 per cent with majors (major currencies) gaining around 0.5 per cent.”

Mr Speizer said there was little on the immediate horizon to give the local currency direction on Tuesday, but he didn’t see the Aussie dollar sustaining its rise much further.

“A quiet calendar sees motor vehicle sales as the only release for Australia. (The) AUD continues to push towards the 0.7980-00 area on the back of a weakening USD, but indicators are now becoming stretched, warming of potential pullbacks.”

Meanwhile, the Aussie dollar is hardly changed against the yen but is down against the euro.

Originally published as Dollar continues upward march against USD