The Australian dollar ended Thursday at the bottom of the local session's range as investors await inflation and other data in the United States for clues to how fast US interest rates will rise.
The Aussie slipped around one US cent from this week's highs overnight as the US dollar rallied broadly on a rebound in regional manufacturing in the United States.
"Currency markets, which are still struggling to find a trending theme, remain vulnerable to US data," said Geoff Bowmer, divisional director of foreign exchange at Macquarie Bank.
Investors now await the US August consumer price index and the Philadelphia Fed's business conditions index, both due later on Thursday.
A 1.75 percent rate would cut the Aussie's yield-premium to the greenback to 350 basis points, from 425 earlier this year - a trend that could continue if economic data calls for further rate increases. The Aussie traded at $0.6944/49, down from $0.6998/03 late on Wednesday. The currency stalled at a high of $0.7049 on Tuesday.