The Australian dollar has edged lower Monday, buying 72.34 US cents, down from 72.49 cents on Friday.

The local currency last Friday has eased and was on track for its worst weekly performances since early October as a global sell-off in equities took the shine off risk assets.

The Australian dollar, often traded as a liquid proxy for global trade prospects, held around US$0.7255, drifting away from a 2-1/2 month top of US$0.7338 hit last week.

The Aussie had cracked above critical chart resistance of 73 US cents last week but was unable to hold on to gains.

It is now down more than one per cent this week.

The losses coincided with a global share rout as investors fretted about a possible slowdown in world growth amid policy tightening in the United States and the bitter Sino-US trade war.

Last week, markets were focused on a critical meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Argentina this week to determine whether the world’s biggest economies can de-escalate tensions over trade.

“Any good news at this meeting could boost the AUD,” said Steven Dooley, currency strategist at Western Union Business Solutions.

The Aussie also hovered near one-week lows on the British pound after Britain and the European Union in-principle agreed to a text setting out their future relationship before a summit on Sunday.

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