The Australian dollar retreated from this week's 25-year peaks on Friday after Australia's yield advantage over the US narrowed on speculation the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates later this year. The Aussie was also hurt by lower commodity prices.
The CRB commodities index fell 1.3 percent on Thursday, pulled down by lower oil and gold prices. Australia is a big exporter of natural resources. But analysts said the Australian dollar was just consolidating before resuming its upward journey as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintains a hawkish bias and appetite for risk recovers.
"Any risk-induced dip would present a good buying opportunity to us, with market expectations for the Fed unrealistic in our view," said Sean Callow, currency strategist at Westpac, Singapore.
The Aussie was at $0.9579/84 against the US dollar, down from $0.9638/41 late here on Thursday. It hit a high of $0.9653 in offshore trade on Wednesday, a level not seen since the Aussie was floated in December 1983. The Aussie has gained over 9 percent against the US dollar so far this year, helped by a hefty yield gap over the US, firm commodity prices and improving appetite for higher-yielding currencies.