The Australian dollar is higher on the back of surprisingly strong Chinese manufacturing activity.
At 1200 AEST on Thursday, the local currency was trading at 92.56 US cents, up from 92.34 cents on Wednesday.
HSBC’s flash Chinese purchasing managers’ index – a measure of manufacturing activity – jumped to 49.7 in May, up from 48.1 in April.
It was the strongest result since December 2013 and the biggest jump in the series since August last year, National Australia Bank senior currency strategist Emma Lawson said.
“The Aussie dollar was tracking lower before that release but then the figures came in as a surprise, much stronger than expected,” Ms Lawson said.
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“The Australian dollar is responding positively to that.
“There’s some better sentiment all around from China this morning which may keep the Aussie supported in the short term.”
Australian bond futures prices were lower.
At 1200 AEST on Thursday, the June 2014 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 96.325 (implying a yield of 3.675 per cent), down from 96.345 (3.655 per cent) on Wednesday.
The June 2014 three-year bond futures contract was at 97.230 (2.770 per cent), down from 97.250 (2.750 per cent).
