The Australian dollar was trading at $US 96.93 cents early this morning.

The value is higher than Wednesday's close of $US 97.03 cents. Overnight, the Aussie buck reached $US 96.86 cents.

The dollar was trading between $US 96.73 cents and $US 97.30 cents since 5 p.m. yesterday.

The Australia dollar can buy the British pound at $AU 1.6244, the Euro at $AU 1.3999, and the Canadian dollar at $AU 1.0015. It could be exchanged with a unit of the Chinese Yuan for $AU 0.1538 cents, the Hong Kong dollar for $AU 0.1325 cents, and the Japanese Yen for 0.0122 cent.

The New Zealand Kiwi is worth $AU 0.7613 cents. Against the Singapore dollar, the local unit is equivalent to $AU 0.7814 cents.

At its current value, the Aussie buck gained nine percent since the first day of September. It is close to its record high of July 2008's $US 98.51.

The local currency is highly expected to match the U.S. dollar by the end of 2010 or early 2011.

The U.S. sharemarket failed to maintain early gains on Wednesday due to mounting speculations of a the Federal Reserve intervention to support a still recovering economy. Stocks closed below the red line as a result.

Domestic data on building approvals, employment vacancies, and private credit are due for release today.