$A higher as US shutdown deepens THE Australian dollar is higher, as the US dollar falls against most currencies on the realisation that the government shutdown in Washington may not be short lived. At 0630 AEST on Thursday, the local unit was trading at 93.90 US cents, up from 93.52 cents on Wednesday. Large parts of the US government are now closed after Congress failed to pass budget legislation by the end of the American financial year.