The Australian dollar is range bound thanks to a stronger greenback and ahead of the federal budget.

At 0700 AEST on Tuesday, the local currency was trading at 93.62 US cents, slightly down from 93.66 cents on Monday.

The Australian dollar was directionless overnight with little economic data or news to drive the market, Westpac senior market strategist in Wellington Imre Speizer said.

The currency, boosted by stronger local data, had been stopped in its tracks this week by the strengthened greenback, he said.

“The US dollar bounced back last week and that’s caused the Aussie to stall,” Mr Speizer said.

“The Aussie is still in a positive trend. It has been rising over many weeks and that is partly due to the Reserve Bank sounding more sanguine about the high exchange rate.”

The federal budget being released on Tuesday night would be on the market’s mind but may not have much affect on the currency, Mr Speizer said.

“Any impact from a fiscally prudent budget, I think that’s been priced in.

“You’d only get a surprise if they were surprisingly austere, and the spending cuts were much larger than expected.”

AAP