The Australian dollar is slightly higher in Asian trading after a round of local data hit the market above expectations.

At 3.29pm (AEDT) the Aussie dollar was trading at US&73.01c up US72.96c in yesterday’s trading.

The latest imports figure released from the bureau of statistics out of Australia came in at -1 percent, unchanged from last month, while the exports figure showed a reading of 1 percent, well up on last month’s figure of -0.5 percent.

The trade balance figures also surprised to the upside, coming in at -$2,973m against analyst’s expectations for a figure of -$3,100m.

The Australian dollar has rebounded strongly since last Friday, racking up 3 days of consecutive gains, but may run into headwinds around the US$73c mark as traders await key data out of the US later today including Market services PMI, as well as ISM Non-manufacturing PMI numbers.

Yesterday’s ADP employment change from the US came in at 214k against expectations for a figure of 190k which sets the stage for a strong Nonfarm payrolls figure tomorrow.

This number is seen as one of the catalysts for the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month so a good performance is likely to see the Aussie dollar come under pressure.