The Australian dollar jumped higher today on the back of surprising CPI numbers, which dented chances of an interest rate hike this year.

At 3.22pm (AEDT), the local currency was trading at US70.13c up from US70.03c in yesterday’s trade.

Data out earlier today from Australia showed the latest quarterly consumer price index rose 0.4 percent in the December against analysts’ expectations of a 0.3 percent rise and bringing to a halt two consecutive quarters of declines.

The annualized figure also rose to 1.7 percent, slightly above forecasts for a number of 1.6 percent.

The Aussie dollar jumped around half a cent immediately after investors were buoyed by the news before pulling back later in the session

The positive numbers come on the back of other recent good news including stable trade balance figures and an improving Jobs market, which may help, offset the damage done by the recent troubles in the Chinese economy, which Australia is so reliant on.

The chances of an interest rate rise from the Reserve Bank of Australia dropped sharply to 6 percent after the release of the inflation numbers, down from 20 percent.

Although the figures were positive, they still fall short of the RBA’s inflation target of 2-3 percent which some are predicting leaves the door open for a rate cut down the line should future data turn negative.