The Australian dollar rallied on the back of improving risk appetite on Wednesday as a sprinkling of better economic news at home and abroad helped shove aside worries over swine flu, at least for a few hours.
Yet the Aussie still had to negotiate the outcome of a Federal Reserve policy meeting and US gross domestic product (GDP) data that are likely to show the world's largest economy contracted sharply for a second straight quarter.
The Australian dollar had bounced to $0.7145 in late trade, up from a $0.6990 low on Tuesday, though it remained well within its recent $0.6950 to $0.7240 trading range. It also firmed to 69.20 yen, from Tuesday's 67.23 trough, as investors trimmed safe-haven positions in the Japanese currency.