The Australian dollar is slightly lower as markets wait for the release of the US September employment data.

At 0700 AEDT on Tuesday, the local unit was trading at 96.57 US cents, down from 96.73 cents on Monday.

Since 1700 AEDT on Monday, the Australian dollar has traded between 96.43 and 96.81 US cents.

During the offshore session on Tuesday night (AEDT), the US government will release a raft of economic data that was due out during the October 1-16 government shutdown, the highlight of which will be non-farm payrolls for September.

The Australian dollar, and most other currencies, rallied after Congress passed a budget bill last week, ending the shutdown, but OM Financial senior client adviser Stuart Ive says currency markets have slowed ahead of the jobs figures.

“The US dollar made a bit of ground overnight, the Aussie dollar is just taking a bit of a pause,” he said.

“Everyone is on hold for the non-farm payrolls. That is the main feature we’re waiting for.

“It’s a little bit of a mixed bag at the moment and that’s why the Aussie is only a touch down.”

The median market forecast is for employment growth of 180,000 in the US in September, which would be better than the gain of 169,00 in August.

Ive said he expects the Australian dollar to trade in a fairly tight range ahead of the employment data.

AAP