THE dollar has opened firmer, with gains on US and European sharemarkets helping lift the currency near $US1.05.
At 7am AEDT, the Aussie was at $US1.0486, up from yesterday's local close of $US1.0465.
The local unit reached a high of $US1.0497 during the overnight overseas session, moving in line with gains on European and US sharemarkets.
Westpac senior currency strategist Richard Franulovich said the Australian dollar, and its New Zealand counterpart, posted gains in line with the rally on Wall Street.
"A day removed now from the drama of Cyprus and US stocks have climbed back to their highs of late last week and the Aussie and kiwi have ridden on the coat-tails of stocks," Mr Franulovich said.
The Dow was up about 0.8 per cent late in the New York session, while London's FTSE 100 closed 0.3 per cent firmer.
