The pair traded a $0.8602 to $0.8658 range during the US hours last night before it started this morning at $0.8615. With iron ore prices taking another hit on Wednesday and speculation around monetary policy locally increasing combined with US dollar strength the Aussie was under pressure throughout the day before hitting the day’s lows in the aftermath of the FOMC meeting minutes release. Aussie-dollar ran into selling pressure again in early Asian trading and traded marginally below the $0.8601 low, to $0.8597 as the US dollar held a bid tone across the board. Losses continued with the pair then slipping to $0.8594 its lowest since Nov. 11, when it traded a $0.8591 low before a small recovery was then seen to around $0.8605. The release of a disappointing HSBC China flash PMI drove aussie-dollar further below the $0.8600 mark and it hit a $0.8586 initially and then to a low of $0.8583 eventually.AUD/USD last trades at $0.8590 and immediate focus now remains on the $0.8541 2014 low with overall focus on the $0.8317 July 2010 monthly low.
