The Australian dollar is on track for its 4^th straight day of gains today on the back of US dollar weakness and the continuing strength in commodity prices. The currency is now threatening to break through the US80c mark which it hasn’t seen for a while and the potential to run into stiff resistance remains large

A possible government shutdown in the US after senators couldn’t agree on a deal for illegal immigrants currently in the US has taken its toll on the Greenback and caused a selloff with most major currency benefiting including the Aussie dollar.

Australian commodities continue to power ahead including copper, which is the country’s 2^nd biggest and has now risen over 10 percent in the last month.

The Australian share market jumped more than 1 percent overnight which was also an additional factor supporting the Australian dollar.

“The AUD has risen alongside its commodity bloc cousins — the Kiwi and CAD — on the back of what has been a solid day of gains for base metals, particularly copper which is up close to 2% today,” noted AxiTrader’s Greg McKenna

“Throw that in with the performance of the basic materials sector on our ASX 200 with a 1.09% gain and the backdrop remains positive for the Aussie.”

The Unemployment rate and Job participation figures due out on Thursday are going to be critically important for the Australian dollar as a good performance may see the RBA rise interest rates in the next few months and will certainly solidify the Aussie’s gains.