The Australian dollar came within a whisker of 72 US cents on Monday, hitting its highest level in nearly a month as the greenback fell out of favour in the wake of disappointing trade data.
But a lack of fresh impetus, stubborn chart resistance and growing caution as oil prices reached fresh highs conspired to rope the Aussie in, taking the edge off its one-cent rally.
Data on Friday showed the US trade deficit widened to a record $55.8 billion, against expectations for a slight widening to $47 billion, casting fresh doubts on the economy's ability to draw in foreign capital to fund the growing gap.
"That was a shocking number that really turned the market around," said Jonathan Prince, manager forex sales at National Australia Bank.
The US dollar fell to a four-week low versus the euro and even slipped against an embattled yen struggling after recent surprisingly weak Japanese growth data. Buoyed by the softer dollar, the Aussie reached a high that was just short of 71.9 cents - a level last seen in July 21.
It had retreated to $0.7166/71, still up almost a full cent from late Friday's $0.7067/72.