Aussie rallies on strong data

Australian dollar rose on Friday against its US counterpart following the release of economic data, and despite the greenback's strength today against other rivals.

Russia's war on Ukraine is intensifying with the west imposing even more sanctions, and freezing assets relating to Russian elites. 

Russia today announced the control of Europe's largest nuclear energy station in Ukraine with troops continuing to tackle strategic sites in the country.

Fed officials expressed some concerns that the Russian attack on Ukraine could harm the US economy to some degree and damage sentiment in the market.

Australian data showed retail sales rose 1.8% last month as expected. 

AUD/USD rose 0.6% to 0.7371 as of 17:18 GMT.