Aust dollar stronger, soars above US$ 1.04

Business, Normal
Source:

The National, Monday 25th March 2013

 SYDNEY: The Australian dollar has closed higher, climbing back above US$1.04 as the turmoil in Cyprus and encouraging Chinese data prompted fresh buying of the local currency.

Westpac chief currency strategist Robert Rennie says the Australian dollar represented something of a relative safe-haven for investors looking to park their money amid difficult times in Europe.

The local unit ended last Friday’s local session at US$1.0426, up from Thursday’s local close of US$1.0373.

The Australian dollar broke through US$1.04 during the overnight offshore session, as the European Central Bank set a deadline of Tuesday for Cyprus to agree to a rescue plan.

Should Cyprus not raise the required billions of euros required by the EU, the nation faced the prospect of being kicked out of the union. 

The currency also gained ground against the euro – at 1700 AEDT it was at €0.8090, up from €0.8013 previously. – AAP