The Australian dollar was trading at $US 98.88 cents early this morning. The value is $US 69 cents (0.70 percent) higher than Friday's close of $US 98.19 cents.

The Aussie buck reached $US 99.18 cents last week, 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 98.97 two hours before opening trade.

The dollar was trading between $US 97.09 cents and $US 98.88 cents since 5 p.m. on Friday.

The Australia dollar can buy the British pound at $AU 1.6286, the Euro at $AU 1.4252, and the Canadian dollar at $AU 1.0005. It could be exchanged with a unit of the Chinese Yuan for $AU 0.1539 cents, the Hong Kong dollar for $AU 0.1324 cents, and the Japanese Yen for 0.0124 cent. Against the Singapore dollar, the local unit is equivalent to $AU 0.7831 cents.

The New Zealand Kiwi is worth $AU 0.7663 cents.

The agriculture, manufacturing, and in-bound tourism businesses will continue tightening with the strength of the Aussie buck. The local currency remains within the $US 99.18 range and is expected to stay within that range for the rest of the week.