The Australian dollar rose against the euro and fluctuated versus the Japanese yen on the speculation that the global economic recovery gains momentum, attracting the investors to the higher-yielding currencies; the moves against the U.S. dollar currently ended with losses for the Aussie.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.9 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares advanced 0.9 percent. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of raw materials went up 0.5 percent yesterday. The economists think that the favorable growth outlook may result in the rising interest rates, which would bolster the Australian currency.

Jean-Claude Trichet, the President of the European Central Bank, boosted the optimism for the European economy, and for the global growth as a result, by stating that the problems of Europe were overestimated. He said at the press conference in Frankfurt this week:

There is a tendency from the outside to be excessively pessimistic. The figures don’t confirm this pessimism.

EUR/AUD traded near 1.4431 as of 19:20 GMT today after it opened at 1.4469. AUD/JPY rose to 77.59. AUD/USD traded at 0.8759 down from its opening level of 0.8772.

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