Australian dollar plunges as oil freeze talks fail

The Australian dollar has plunged sharply after oil producing nations fail to reach agreement on cuts to output.

The Australian dollar has plunged sharply as crude oil prices tumble.

At 7am (AEST), the local unit was trading at US76.53 cents, down from US77.23 cents on Friday.

The currency slumped after a meeting of oil producing nations in Qatar last night (AEST) failed to agree to cut production.

The talks broke down after Saudi Arabia reportedly demanded that Iran join in, despite calls on Riyadh to save the agreement and help prop up crude prices.

Westpac senior market strategist Imre Speizer said falling oil prices could push commodity currencies like the Aussie even lower today.

“The oil meeting failure will probably weigh on commodity currencies, with the Australian dollar testing US76 cents on the day,” he said in a note.

“However, daily momentum remains positive such that a break above US77.35 cents is expected during the days ahead.”

AAP