Australian dollar gains three percent

The Australian dollar edged lower but held in narrow ranges near eight-week highs on Tuesday, after rising about 3 percent in the month on expectations that Australia's central bank will raise interest rates next week.
The monthly rise in the Australian dollar roughly matched the around 3 percent gain seen in July, and was achieved against a backdrop of a broadly weaker US dollar, particularly after data on Friday showed sluggish third-quarter US economic growth.
The Aussie dollar was quoted at $0.7691/94 compared with $0.7696/99 here late on Monday, according to Reuters data. It ranged from $0.7685 to $0.7696.