THE Australian dollar was slightly higher following a general election in Japan and continuing concerns about budget negotiations in the United States.
At 7am AEDT on Monday, the currency was trading at 105.48 US cents up from 105.44 cents on Friday afternoon.
HiFX senior trader Stuart Ive said the currency had moved higher over the weekend following weakness at the end of trading on Wall Street on Friday.
''We're experiencing a bit of a bounce, after having a bit of a selloff after the US close,'' he said. ''We're just finding a bit of a level here.''
Victory by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan, the country's conservative opposition, had provided some interest for the market, he said.
''The election result means there's potential for more economic stimulus in Japan,'' Mr Ive said. ''That would weaken their currency, and see more inflows into the Australian dollar. We also have the Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting on Thursday, so it will be interesting to see where they will go, now there's been a change of government - they'll be under immense pressure.''
Mr Ive said the looming fiscal cliff in the US - a series of tax rises and spending cuts due to begin in 2013 - would remain a concern for the market.
''In the backdrop to this, we still have the fiscal cliff situation, which seems to be going nowhere fast,'' he said. ''Although the Republican speaker seems to have floated the idea that they could be more flexible on the upper-earnings tax.''