The Australian dollar has strengthened further against its US counterpart, helped by increased commodity prices.

At 0700 AEDT on Friday, the local unit was trading at 76.82 US cents, up from 76.68 cents on Thursday.

The Aussie dollar, which rose against the greenback on Thursday thanks to positive local trade figures and solid Chinese services data, was lifted back toward the 77 US cent level it breached in October.

“The weaker US dollar plus high iron and coal prices are underpinning the AUD, targeting a break above 0.7690 today,” said Imre Speizer, Westpac strategist.

Speizer still expects the Australian dollar to weaken against the US in the medium term, especially if the US Federal Reserve lifts its central interest rate in December.

The local unit was also stronger against the yen and the euro, but slipped to 61.67 British pence after the UK currency strengthened on the back of a shift by the Bank of England to a neutral stance from a dovish one on inflation targets.

AAP

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