Dollar lower after falls in China equities

THE Australian dollar has dropped below the 74 US cent mark, dragged down by weakness in Chinese stocks and a rise in the greenback.

THE Australian dollar has dropped below the 74 US cent mark, dragged down by weakness in Chinese stocks and a rise in the greenback.

At 0630 AEST on Thursday, the Aussie was trading at 73.77 US cents, down from 74.72 cents on Wednesday.

The dollar was driven lower after Chinese equities fell three per cent, despite upbeat data on second quarter China gross domestic product.

It was also impacted by the US dollar, which rose to a six-week high overnight after comments from US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen were interpreted to suggest rate rises are likely this year.

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 0630 AEST ON THURSDAY

One Australian dollar buys:

* 73.77 US cents, from 74.72 cents on Wednesday

* 91.30 Japanese yen, from 92.28 yen

* 67.40 euro cents, from 67.93 euro cents

(*Currency closes taken at 1700 AEST previous local session)

Source: IRESS