Australian dollar rallies after RBA drops easing bias

SYDNEY, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar rallied on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia dropped its easing bias in the first policy review of the year, encouraging markets to increase the chance of an interest rate hike.

The Aussie jumped half a cent to $0.8830, after the central bank kept rates unchanged at a record low of 2.5 percent. It was up 0.9 percent on the day.

(Reporting by Cecile Lefort; Editing by Eric Meijer)

((Cecile.Lefort@thomsonreuters.com)(+61 2 9373-1234)(Reuters Messaging: cecile.lefort.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))

Keywords: MARKETS AUSTRALIA/FOREX