Australian dollar weakens after US Fed minutes released

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Australian dollar weakens after US Fed minutes released

The Australian dollar is weaker after US Federal Reserve meeting minutes sounded upbeat and iron ore prices hit a new five-year low.

At 0700 AEDT on Thursday, the local currency was trading at 86.16 US cents, down from 86.65 cents on Wednesday.

The unit spiked to 86.57 US cents overnight before sliding.

The unit spiked to 86.57 US cents overnight before sliding.Credit: Louie Douvis

As dawn broke on Australia's east coast, the unit spiked to 86.57 US cents before sliding to close to 86 US cents within half an hour.

ANZ senior foreign exchange manager Sam Tuck said the US Fed's October meeting minutes had caused the greenback to bounce around.

"The Fed minutes were, relatively, reasonably balanced ... There was a little something for both sides of the picture," he said from Auckland.

"They acknowledged the slower global growth prospects ... but they didn't really want to comment on it because they thought it would be creating an overly pessimistic impression."

Mr Tuck said that, on balance, the minutes gave markets a "relatively upbeat assessment".

The US central bank's Federal Open Market Committee in October opted to end quantitative easing stimulus measures.

Meanwhile, iron ore prices hit a new low of $US70 a tonne, which hurt the commodities-linked Australian dollar.

AAP

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