THE dollar broke through 109 US cents to a 12-week high today, benefiting from weakness in the US dollar as uncertainty over America\'s debt crisis grows.
At 5pm (AEST), the dollar was trading at 109.31 US cents, its highest since May 4, and up from 108.13 US cents on Monday.
Since 7am (AEST) today, the local unit traded between 108.20 US cents and 109.34 cents.
OZForex corporate foreign exchange dealer Carly Pickering said the dollar rallied hard against the falling US dollar, after an address by US President Barack Obama failed to quell investor fears of a sovereign debt default.
Mr Obama failed to provide new information and this caused the US dollar to be sold off and strengthened the Australian currency, Ms Pickering said.
In a primetime televised speech, Mr Obama rejected a Republican proposal to temporarily lift the debt limit, arguing it would leave the underlying problem unresolved and lead to a repeat of the current crisis in six months.
