The Australian dollar is only fractionally higher against its US counterpart following a basically upbeat message from the local reserve bank chief.

At 0635 AEDT on Friday, the Australian dollar was worth 76.29 US cents, up from 67.26 US cents on Thursday.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe’s upbeat message in a speech at the A50 Australian Economic Forum Dinner in Sydney helped support the Australian currency.

Dr Lowe said Australia faced a complex challenge in rebuilding its financial buffers ahead of any global economic difficulties, particularly as the government competes with other nations to attract foreign investment.

However, he said, Australia’s relatively low government net debt was “a form of insurance” that gave policymakers options during the global financial crisis.

The US dollar rose after US President Donald Trump said he would release his “phenomenal” tax plan in the next few weeks.

It’s been a broad-based US dollar rally driven by the headlines that Trump plans to announce something phenomenal on taxes in the next few weeks, in his words,” said Kathy Lien, managing director of BK Asset Management.

The Aussie dollar is higher against the euro but down against the yen.

AAP

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