AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR CLOSES ABOVE LOWER OPENING LEVEL
The Australian dollar staged a strong
recovery on the local market after sharp overnight falls
offshore, as a weak U.S. Dollar and capital inflow into local
gold stocks and securities boosted demand, dealers said.
    The dollar closed at 0.7092/97 U.S. Dlrs, after opening
easier at 0.7040/45 from U.S. Lows of 0.7030/40. But the dollar
still had not recovered to yesterday's local closing levels of
0.7109/14.
    Traders are confident the local unit will return above
0.7100, and they regard today's fall as a correction in the
currency's recent uptrend.
    Traders said the Australian dollar, after trading around
0.7040/50 for most of the day, surged to its day's high in late
afternoon trading on Asian buying.
    They said offshore traders are still bullish towards the
Australian dollar as yesterday's U.S. Selling occurred in thin
volume.
    Nervousness over the short-term direction of the U.S.
Dollar ahead of the International Monetary Fund meeting also
provided support for the Australian dollar. In Asia, the U.S.
Dollar ended lower at 145.15/20 yen against Tokyo's 145.25
close and New York's final 145.85/90.
    The U.S. Dollar also finished at 1.8208/18 marks against
Tokyo's 1.8205/15 and 1.8260/70 in New York.
    The Reserve Bank trade weighted index eased to 55.7 points
from yesterday's 56.0. The U.S. Dollar average hedge settlement
rate was struck at 70.66 from 71.10.
 REUTER
