The Australian dollar barely moved in sleepy Asian trading yesterday but the outlook for the currency remained upbeat, with one major domestic bank sharply lifting its forecast for the currency this year.
"It's very, very quiet," Rochford Capital director of market risk Derek Mumford said.
"The Australian (dollar) has just been drifting around, really.
"There is a lot of data out tonight in the US and big numbers on Friday from China."
Figures on US industrial production, inflation and housing were due for release during last night's offshore trading session, with market players also expected to focus on any progress over the US debt ceiling.
Commonwealth Bank raised its year-end forecast to $US1.08, from $US1.04 previously.
Other forecasters are expected to follow soon with similarly upbeat revisions.
Richard Grace, the head of currency strategy at CBA, said the upward revisions were due to expected improvement in the world economy in the year ahead.
Strong commodity prices and an expectation that the US Federal Reserve would keep open-ended quantitative easing in place were further reasons to expect a higher Australian dollar, Mr Grace said.
"You will see persistent QE from the G4 economies and will also see a faster rate of global economic growth in 2013," he said.
"Improved investor risk appetite will also follow as Europe's economy improves and US fiscal cliff issues subside."
The dollar was little changed as traders awaited today's release of key employment data for December.
At 5pm AEDT, the currency was trading at $US1.0553, up US0.05c.
Many in the markets are bracing for weak data as recent anecdotal reports on the job market point to persistent softness.
A survey of job advertisements published by ANZ Bank on Monday showed a tenth straight monthly decline in the number of advertisements appearing online and in major newspapers.
A number of high-profile Australian companies announced deep job cuts this week, some blaming the high Australian dollar, which remains within striking distance of its highest levels in 30 years.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expect the jobless rate to have risen to 5.4 per cent in December, from 5.2 per cent the previous month.
