The Australian dollar has traded within a narrow range after the US Federal Reserve chair’s testimony to congress revealed nothing new.

At 0700 AEST on Thursday, the local currency was trading at 93.28 US cents, down from 93.45 cents on Wednesday.

Janet Yellen began her testimony before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress in Washington overnight (AEST) where she reiterated that interest rates would remain on hold for some time after tapering ended.

Arab Bank treasury dealer David Scutt said it was a lacklustre session for the Australian dollar/US dollar overnight, with the pair drifting between 93.19 and 93.49 US cents.

“Sticking to a well worn script, Dr Yellen told lawmakers that a high degree of monetary accommodation remains warranted and that labour market conditions remained far from satisfactory,” Scutt said.

All eyes on Thursday would be on local unemployment data, “a notoriously volatile release”, followed by Chinese trade figures, Scutt said.

“Given markets now expect the jobs data to outperform – the last two releases have beaten expectations while forward looking indicators such as the ANZ job ads survey continue to strengthen – it’s clear that the risks heading into this event are clearly to the downside,” he said.

“After that has passed, the Aussie will have to contend with Chinese trade figures due out at midday with literally any outcome possible given volatility in the data of late.”

AAP