The Australian dollar opened slightly higher after an unsteady session at the U.S. share market.

The local currency traded early today at $US 93.81 cents. The value is higher than yesterday's close of $US 93.73 cents. Since 7 a.m. AEST, the local unit traded between $US 93.50 cents and $US 94.20 cents.

The Aussie buck can buy a U.S. dollar at $AU 1.06; the British pound at $AU 1.65; the Euro at $AU 1.38, and the Canadian dollar at $AU 1.03. Against New Zealand's Kiwi, the local unit is $AU 78.08 cents.

The Chinese Yuan is worth $AU 15.83 cents and the Japanese Yen can be exchanged for $AU 01.24 cents.

Japan made a surprise attempt into the currency markets overnight to reverse the yen's rise. The yen dropped three percent or more against major currencies in order to boost Japanese companies such as Toyota and Sony that are critical to the nation's economy.

However, Canadian Forex corporate dealer Darren Richardson said, “The yen was basically sold heavily in a unilateral movement across the globe.” As a result, trade between the U.S. dollar and the yen remained flat later in the offshore session.

Richardson forecast a stable day for the Australian unit. He said, “I think they will be waiting out for Friday's consumer price index (CPI) in the US which will have a big impact on the Australian dollar on Thursday evening.”