The Australian dollar has been weighed down by a slump in global oil prices.
The Australian dollar has been weighed down by a slump in global oil prices.
At 0700 AEDT on Thursday, the currency was trading at 70.94 US cents, down from 71.01 cents on Wednesday.
Bank of New Zealand currency strategist Raiko Shareef said the Aussie and the Kiwi were the joint underperformers overnight, as commodity currencies took a hit.
"(The Aussie) took a dip last night as oil prices dropped below $40 a barrel in New York," he said.
"That was after a report that showed record levels of crude oil inventory in the (United) States."
Mr Shareef said the currency was moving in a narrow range but had suffered a bit of volatility upon the release of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting minutes.
A solid core of Fed officials rallied behind a possible December rate rise, but central bankers also debated evidence the US economy's long-term potential may have permanently shifted lower.
Westpac Strategist Imre Speizer tipped the Aussie to threaten the bottom of the multi-day range of 70.70-71.60 US cents on Thursday.
"The continuing slide in global commodities (is) doing the Australian dollar no favours," he said.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 0700 AEDT ON THURSDAY
One Australian dollar buys:
* 70.94 US cents, from 71.01 cents on Wednesday
* 87.66 Japanese yen, from 87.52 yen
* 66.65 euro cents, from 66.67 euro cents
* 109.97 New Zealand cents, from 109.44 NZ cents
* 46.60 British pence, from 46.69 pence
(*Currency closes taken at 1700 AEDT previous local session)
