The Australian dollar has risen Thursday, buying 71.45 US cents from 71.38 US cents on Wednesday.

Yesterday, a rise in the kiwi has given a small lift to the Aussie dollar, which had lost ground overnight as a report of problems in Sino-US trade talks soured risk sentiment globally.

The local currency was last at 71.28 US cents, having fallen 0.4 per cent overnight to as far as 71.16 US cents.

The New Zealand dollar bounced smartly on Wednesday after inflation data proved not nearly as soft as some bears had been wagering on, prompting a round of hurried short covering.

Kaixin Owyong, an economist at National Australia Bank, noted the New Zealand CPI sometimes offered a guide on what to expect from Australia’s inflation report, which is due out next week.

“Looking at the NZ CPI components that map across to the Australian CPI, suggests some upside risk,” Owyong said.

“For core inflation, we are lifting our trimmed mean CPI expectation to 0.4 per cent q/q, from a range of 0.3 to 0.4.”

NAB expects the headline index rose 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, and 1.6 per cent on a year earlier.

Australian government bond futures edged up as Asian equities slipped, with the three-year bond contract rising 1.5 ticks to 98.225.

The 10-year contract firmed one tick to 97.7100.

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