The Australian sharemarket is rallying strongly today, completely wiping out yesterday's slight falls. The All Ordinaries index (XAO) is up 1pct or 49pts to 4866.5.

The miners are leading the rally with Australia's second largest miner, RIO Tinto (RIO) up 4.01pct or $3.33 to $86.52 whilst the larger BHP Billiton (BHP) is up 2.63pct or $1.15 to $44.87. The miners are being assisted by a rally in commodity prices overnight off the back of a weaker USD and the Canadian government rejecting BHP's current bid for the world's largest fertilizer maker, Potash Corp (pot.to).

The four big banks started the day off stronger, however have pulled back slightly at lunch with mixed results from the majors on the market so far today.

Australia's largest gold producer, Newcrest Mining (NCM) is benefiting off the back of a stronger gold price, which rose almost 3.5pct last night. NCM shares are up 3.76pct or $1.54 to $42.50.

The retailers are mixed but mostly weaker and the energy sector is currently outperforming the broader market.

The Australian dollar is trading at around 28 year highs and currently buys US1.013c.