The Australian currency opened higher on Tuesday as a lift in US homes sales bolstered growth assets such as equities and commodity-driven currencies.

At 7am AEST today, the local unit was trading at $US0.9025/28, 0.65 per cent higher than yesterday's close of $US0.8967/70.

Since 5pm AEST on Monday, the Australian currency ranged from $US0.8955 to $US0.9035, its peak level since mid-May.

Wall Street finished stronger on Monday after a US government report indicated new homes sales exceeded market forecasts and FedEx Corporation upgraded its profit outlook.

Sales of new homes in the US climbed 24 per cent to an annual rate of 330,000 units in June, a rise from a record low of 267,000 in May, according to the US Department of Commerce.

Fedex Corporation, which is considered an indicator of economic activity, raised its earnings outlook for the first quarter and full year, suggesting a strengthening in the US economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished 0.97 per cent higher. The broader-based Standard & Poor's 500 index ended up 1.12 per cent.

The news on US property data and FedEx boosted the overall market confidence, with high-yielding assets such as equities and the Australian currency gaining from the lift, said Darren Richardson, a corporate dealer with online currency trader OzForex.

"That was on the back of solid market sentiment once again," he said from Toronto.

"It was a case of commodity currencies taking advantage over the last 12 hours in North America."

Mr Richardson predicts the local dollar to trade from $US0.8950 to $US0.9050 during Tuesday's Asian session.

"We might see some minor profit taking during the Australian session on the gains of the past three business days," he said.

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