The Australian dollar has racked up its fourth straight day of gains today on the back of stronger commodity prices and uncertainty on the timing of an interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve.
At 7.15pm (GMT) the Aussie dollar was trading at US76.26c up from US76.15c at close of trade on Friday.
Continuing strength in copper and Iron ore, Australia’s biggest commodity are helping to keep the Australian dollar afloat as well as comments from Fed president Janet Yellen that a ‘high-pressure economy’ might be the way forward in the US.
Such a path may be followed in order to keep unemployment in check and boost consumer confidence despite the risk of inflation. The market took the comments as a sign that the Fed was prepared to leave rates lower for longer and the chances of a rate hike in December dropped to 64 percent after the speech.
"The Aussie is tracking well against the US dollar and is outperforming a range of currencies, including the Kiwi and the Euro," noted Westpac senior currency strategist Sean Callow
Also helping the Aussie dollar is heightened expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will refrain from cutting interest rates in the nearest future as the economy recovers and especially continuing strength in the local jobs market.
