The Australian dollar rose to a 15-month high against its US counterpart amid expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will enact a further rate hike.A flurry of buying activity was witnessed in early trading this morning (November 12th) after an offical report showed stronger than expected employment data for October.Analysts have taken the figures as an indication that the RBA will announce another rate cut before the end of the year, extending the 50 basis point hike announced over the last two months."It certainly counts toward another rise of 25 basis points in December. The Reserve Bank will surely be keen to remove more of this emergency stimulus," said Felicity Emmett, a senior economist at RBS, speaking to Reuters.The cash rate currently stands at 3.50 per cent, with the central bank emboldened by Australia's prospects for recovery.Federal housing grants, record interest rate cuts and other spending incentives have helped to pull the country through the downturn in better shape than many other industrialised nations.