The Australian dollar slipped to a two-week low in the face of a rejuvenated US dollar that appears to be breaking free of its long-running twin concerns of bulging fiscal and current account deficits. The Aussie was mixed against other currencies, but underpinned by the prospect of higher interest rates in the next few months following a hawkish statement by the central bank on Monday.
The AUD was $0.7672/77 compared with $0.7723/25. It touched a high of $0.7738 overnight, before easing to $0.7643 locally.