The Australian dollar is making a run back towards the US82.00 cents level today after strong data out of China provided a boost for the local currency

At 7.19pm (AEDT) the Aussie dollar was trading US81.81 cents at up from in US81.56 cents yesterday’s trade

Chinese exports rose 9.7 % in December to US$227.5 billion, coming in much higher than analysts’ expectations of a 4.7% rise while imports declined further than expected coming in at -2.4% against a market consensus of -6.6%

With the US on the recovery trail, we may see the Chinese export market continue to perform well according to Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics who noted,

 “Looking ahead, although the global economy remains fragile we nonetheless expect growth in many of China’s key export markets, such as the US, to stage a slight recovery this year, which should provide support to Chinese exports,”.

These numbers are good news for the Australian dollar as the local currency has been weighed down by it’s own export market and in particular the lack of demand for iron ore, which has fallen sharply over the past year.

If the Chinese import market can hold up we may see a revival in demand for Australia’s biggest commodity which may provide some support to the Australian dollar.