The Australian dollar lost ground on Friday, hurt by mounting worries about a sharp global economic downturn, putting it on track for its worst monthly performance since it was floated in 1983. Also weighing down on the Aussie, which had gained to one-week highs in offshore trade, were expectations of a another steep interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia next week.
That would follow a 50 basis point cut by the US Federal Reserve earlier this week and a 20 basis point cut by the Bank of Japan on Friday. The BoJ cut was the first in seven years. The Aussie dipped to $0.6729 from $0.6832 late here on Thursday. It had advanced to a high of $0.6894 in offshore trade, jumping over 13 percent since it struck a 5-1/2 year low of $0.6007 earlier this week.