The Australian dollar is weaker against the greenback, which has risen on bullish US jobs and factory data.

At 7am (AEST), the local unit was trading at US76.44c, down from US77.16c on Wednesday.

ANZ senior FX manager, Sam Tuck, said a range of US economic figures overnight mostly surprised on the upside, pushing the greenback up against all other major currencies.

The Institute for Supply Management manufacturing survey exceeded expectations, backed up by positive revisions from the Markit manufacturing PMI, he said.

“Construction spending (was also) up 0.8 per cent in the US, which is a good sign for housing and the general economy,” he said.

Tuck said the ADP National Employment Report was also bullish, with firms adding 237,000 jobs in June.

“We have the non farm payrolls report, the monthly report about employment in the US, and that ADP is giving a positive signal to markets about potential strength,” he said.

Westpac strategist, Imre Speizer, tipped the Aussie to retain a slightly negative momentum on Thursday, saying it would target the US76 cent mark.

He predicted an “eventual resumption of the strong US dollar trend” to weigh on the local unit during the next few months, saying it could move as low as US75c.

AAP