THE Australian dollar is slightly higher after a quiet day of trade. At 5pm AEST today, the local unit was trading at US90.38c, up from US90.03c on Friday. The Australian dollar got a slight boost after the US Commerce Department on Friday said new home sales for July plunged by 13.4 per cent, leading investors to doubt the strength of the American economic recovery. Commonwealth Bank currency strategist Peter Dragicevich said today had been a quiet day for the Aussie, as investors wait for Thursday's capital expenditure data. "We've seen a pretty narrow range in the Aussie today," Mr Dragicevich said. "There hasn't been a lot of movement in any of the currencies against the US dollar. "That's merely the function of a lack of news flow. "We do have a bank holiday in the UK today so that will keep markets pretty well contained in the European session as well."

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