The Australian dollar was trading at $US 98.08 cents early this morning. The value is $US 29 cents lower than Thursday's close of $US 98.37 cents.

Overnight, the Aussie buck reached $US 99.18 cents, the highest value since the unit was floated in 1983. The value is also far from the $US 98.5 cents it set in July 2008. The local unit retreated to $US 98.25 four hours before opening trade.

The dollar was trading between $US 97.83 cents and $US 99.18 cents since 5 p.m. yesterday.

The Australia dollar can buy the British pound at $AU 1.6157, the Euro at $AU 1.4132, and the Canadian dollar at $AU 1.0008. It could be exchanged with a unit of the Chinese Yuan for $AU 0.1514 cents, the Hong Kong dollar for $AU 0.1304 cents, and the Japanese Yen for 0.0122 cent.

The New Zealand Kiwi is worth $AU 0.7661 cents. Against the Singapore dollar, the local unit is equivalent to $AU 0.7745 cents.

Importers of goods continue to benefit from the strong local currency, especially, after the Aussie reached a 27-year high in overnight trade. However, export companies, most especially those which depend heavily on U.S. goods will continue to experience the pinch.