The Australian dollar bounced on Thursday as buoyant Asian stock markets offered support, with investors awaiting comments on local economic and interest rate outlooks from the chief of Australia's central bank on Friday. The Aussie rebounded two cents to $0.8395, from $0.8190 seen here late Wednesday, when it suffered its largest one-day drop in a month. It rose against the yen as well to 80.69 yen, from Wednesday's 78.02.
Some analysts warned the Aussie could face strong resistance if it tries to retest a 10-month high of $0.8471 hit on August 4 as initial optimism over the world economy may have been over the top. "There are some signs that financial markets are running out of steam, with economic fundamentals, while improving, still weak," said Annette Martins, an analyst at Macquarie. Martins said the Aussie should face "solid headwinds" at $0.85-$0.86.