The Australian dollar has gone from strength to strength overnight, following upbeat local jobs figures and the Swiss central bank’s decision to slash its interest rate.

At 0700 AEDT on Friday, the local currency was trading at 82.21 US cents, up from 82.12 cents on Thursday.

The Australian dollar jumped above 82 US cents on Thursday after official figures showed the unemployment rate fell to 6.1 per cent in December.

The economy added 37,000 jobs in the month, much better than the 5000 jobs economists were expecting, bringing the number of employed Australians to 11.7 million.

The currency got another shot in the arm overnight from the Swiss National Bank’s shock decision to end its three year bid to artificially hold down the value of its currency against the euro, and slash the interest rate to -0.75 per cent, from -0.25 per cent.

“When the Swiss National Bank brought interest rates deeper into negative territory, investors were forced to look for alternative safe havens,” BK Asset Management MD, Kathy Lien, said.

“This resulted in money pouring into Australia and New Zealand, two countries still offering an attractive yield.”

A rebound in gold and copper prices also made the Australian dollar more attractive overnight, Lien said.

AAP