The Australian dollar rose after gold prices soared and weaker-than-expected American home sales figures put downward pressure on its US counterpart.
At 7am AEST the local unit was trading at 92.49 US cents, up from 92.22 cents at yesterday’s local close.
BK Asset Management New York managing director Kathy Lien said the Australian dollar was given a boost by the weakness in the greenback along with strong gold prices.
The US dollar is trading lower after weaker-than-expected figures showed existing home sales dropped by 1.2 per cent in June.
Meanwhile, gold futures posted their biggest percentage gain in more than year and settled above $US1300 an ounce for the first time in a month amid hopes that loose monetary policy will prevail around the world, following a sweeping victory for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in weekend upper house elections.
“The jump in gold prices has been very supportive of the Australian dollar,'' Ms Lien said. “The US home sales did extend losses for the US dollar. But the figures are still indicative of a relatively OK performance in the US economy.''
