Dollar stays afloat

 

Fan of dollars, moneyThe Australian dollar is lower but still holding above 81 US cents following better than expected economic data.

At 0700 AEDT on Wednesday, the local currency was trading at 81.10 US cents, down from 81.43 cents on Tuesday.

The currency bounced on Tuesday after Australia’s trade deficit came in at $925 million for November, significantly smaller than what economists were expecting.

There were also positive data out of China, with the services PMI coming in at a three month high of 53.4 points in December, from 53.0.

“The Australian dollar is near 81.05 US cents this morning, having touched a high of 81.58 cents yesterday afternoon,” National Australia Bank senior economist, Spiros Papadopoulos, said.

“The Australian dollar got a boost yesterday after the better than expected trade data and the rise in the Chinese Services PMI… but it was unable to sustain the momentum into the European session.”

AAP

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