The Australian dollar has lost more than three-quarters of a US cent overnight as investors position themselves ahead of the release of local jobs data.
At 0700 AEDT on Wednesday, the Australian dollar was trading at 89.58 US cents, down from 90.38 cents on Tuesday.
The Australian dollar dipped overnight following the release of better than expected US retail sales figures.
But Bank of New Zealand strategist Kymberly Martin said the local currency appeared to have been driven by local factors rather than the US data.
She said investors may be positioning themselves ahead of Thursday’s Australian labour force data for December.
“US retail sales were probably the only data of note overnight but having said that, the US dollar didn’t strengthen in great form, it was actually flat, and the NZ dollar managed to hold up pretty well. So, I think, this is probably more of an Australian dollar story specifically,” she said.
“Perhaps the market is prepositioning itself ahead of tomorrow’s employment report.
“It does seem to be a bit more to do with the Australian dollar as opposed to what’s going on in the US.”
US Commerce Department figures show that retail sales were up 0.2 per cent from November but the November reading was revised lower to 0.4 per cent from 0.7 per cent.
Excluding car sales, retail sales in December were up 0.7 per cent. Sales of motor vehicles and parts fell 1.8 per cent.
AAP
