The Australian dollar languished under 74 US cents on Thursday after a failed attempt to break higher, weighed down by sluggish commodity prices and uncertainty about US interest rates ahead of crucial inflation data.
US consumer price (CPI) numbers, as well as reports on housing starts and regional manufacturing, due later on Thursday could be pivotal for currency and debt markets as the US dollar has weakened on speculation the fed funds rate might peak at 4.75 percent.
Economists polled by Reuters estimated US core CPI rose 0.2 percent in February, just as it did in January.
But a higher-than-expected CPI outcome would bolster expectations of further US rate rises, boosting the US dollar and bond yields.