The Australian dollar took a beating on Wednesday as early results of the US presidential poll suggested that Donald Trump had an edge in certain key states, lighting a fire under the greenback.

The local currency was among the biggest losers against the US dollar on Wednesday, on course for its worst one-day drop in five months. It dived almost 2 per cent at one stage to US65.10¢, the lowest since August when it fell as far as US63.46¢.