The Australian dollar is higher after the Bank of England and the European Central Bank pledged to keep their interest rates low for an extended period to support growth.
Both banks also said they would not follow the US Federal Reserve in preparing for a gradual withdrawal of economic stimulus.
Early Friday morning the local unit was trading at 91.47 US cents, up from 91.06 cents on Thursday.
Bank of New Zealand currency strategist Mike Jones said the central banks’ comments surprised investors because they were unusually open about their intentions.
“No one expected a surprise from either central bank,” he said.
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“The fact that they introduced forward guidance for the first time and changed their language to be much more dovish blindsided investors a little bit.
“As a result, we’ve seen gains for the Aussie dollar against the British pound and the euro, and those gains have underpinned a push higher for the Aussie against the US dollar.”
US markets were closed for the Independence Day public holiday overnight, which made trading volumes lower and price movement more volatile.
Markets are now awaiting the release of official US employment figures for June, due out during the offshore session on Friday night.
The figures are expected to be strong after a report released earlier in the week showed a better-than-expected gain in private sector employment growth in June.
