The Australian dollar was almost level following a night of mixed economic data.

At 6.30am AEDT the local unit was trading at 103.48 US cents, slightly down from 103.50 cents at yesterday’s local close.

New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits fell last week to their lowest level since January 2008, a sign that employment growth may be picking up.

Earlier in the overnight session, it was revealed that the eurozone recession was getting worse. The region's economy shrank 0.6 per cent in the December quarter, following a contraction of 0.1 per cent in the previous quarter.