The Aussie dollar was also buying 81.1 yen, 81.1 euro cents and 64.9 pence in recent trading.
Part of the spur has come from another big rise in Chinese iron ore import prices, which rose back above the $US100 a tonne mark yesterday for the first time since August 22.
The gain of more than $US5 a tonne, or 5.5 per cent, to $US100.20 brought the two-day surge to more than 12 per cent. That's the largest gain over consecutive days for the four years the index has been operating.
Iron ore has rebounded almost 15 per cent in the four trading days since September 5, when it touched a 35-month low of $US86.70 a tonne.
