The Australian dollar has opened higher on improved risk appetite, as Wall Street shrugged off more poor economic data to rally for a fourth straight day.
At 0700 AEDT, the Australian dollar was trading at $US0.6528/34, up from Wednesday's close of $US0.6462/65.
During the overnight session, the local unit moved between a low of $US0.6432 and a high of $US0.6534.
Another positive day on US equity markets pushed investors away from safe-haven currencies such as the US dollar and Japanese yen and towards high-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar and Brazilian real.
Brown Brothers Harriman and Co senior currency strategist Win Thin said recent initiatives to tackle the credit crisis and the 200 billion euro ($A401.85 billion) eurozone fiscal stimulus package had helped improve sentiment.
"I think the markets this week have gotten a little bit more optimistic just in terms of the US policy makers' response to the credit crisis and on hopes that maybe we'll stave off a deep, deep recession," Mr Thin said from New York.
"I don't know if the market is getting too ahead of itself, but at least for now the optimism is outweighing the pessimism."
The Australian dollar pushed above $US0.6500 during New York trading, but Mr Thin said the gloomy global backdrop caused most rallies to be short lived.
"I think there's enough uncertainty out there that we're still in, for the most part, recent ranges," Mr Thin said.
US data showed new home sales fell to their lowest levels since 1991 in October, while consumer spending recorded its largest monthly decline in seven years.
US durable goods orders also declined sharply in October.
OzForex corporate dealer Darren Richardson said fundamentals were "on the back burner".
"People are still looking for overall market sentiment, looking to see if assets can reverse direction," Mr Richardson said from Toronto.
He said the Australian dollar was meeting significant resistance at $US0.6530, with the support level at $US0.6450.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases private capital expenditure data for the September quarter, as well as forward estimates of planned spending, at 1130 AEDT.
