Aussie dollar holds onto gains as traders eye Chinese stimulus

The Australian dollar was relatively unchanged in the overnight session as traders hold onto gains on improving risk sentiment.

At 0700 AEDT on Wednesday, the local unit was trading at 69.07 US cents, down from 69.11 cents on Tuesday.

The Australian dollar rose during the local session on Tuesday as traders eyed a new round of stimulus measures from Beijing following weak economic activity data that showed the economy grew at its slowest in 25 years.

During the overnight session, the unit traded above 69.50 U.S. cents as commodities and European equities rallied on improved risk sentiment, however the unit gave up gains late on Wall Street as the oil price turned.

The Australian dollar is still expected to edge lower over the coming months because of global growth concerns, fragile financial markets and the lower Australian terms of trade, Commonwealth Bank of Australia senior currency strategist Elias Haddad said in his morning note.

Haddad highlighted the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook Report - released on Tuesday local time - that lowered global growth predictions by 0.20 percent.

"Importantly, the IMF warned that the risks to the global growth outlook remain skewed to the downside," Haddad said.

At 0945 the Australian dollar was trading at 69.07 U.S. cents. Enditem