Dollar near US73c in late trade, after touching five-month low

The local unit has touched a five-month low in today’s session, as the greenback’s rally continues.

The Aussie dollar is the worst performing G-0 currency since the US election.

The Australian dollar continues to be hit hard by the US dollar’s post-election rally, touching lowest level since early June.

At 5.03pm (AEDT) on Monday, the local unit had pared losses to trade at US73.22 cents, down from US73.89c on Friday.

The Aussie is now down four-and-a-half US cents off its high on the morning of the US election count. That makes it the worst performing G-0 currency, down 5.6 per cent since the election, outfacing weakness in the Japanese yen and the New Zealand dollar.

“The Aussie is still on the back foot and reeling from aggressive attacks for the second week,” said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader.

The “love affair, perhaps honeymoon” has ended quickly and aggressively for the Aussie, he said, adding that the quick turnaround shows just how big the fallout is from the unexpected turn of events that Donald Trump will become the next US president.

Aside from this, the Aussie faces other concerns in the near term, including growing fears that the country could lose its coveted AAA sovereign rating.

S&P Global Ratings warned midyear it is could cut the rating, stressing the urgent need for improvement of the county’s finances.

Treasurer Scott Morrison will announce an update to the 2016-17 budget on December 19, but it is unlikely he will announce anything to address the need for credible repair to the country’s finances.

A report by research group Deloitte Access Economics showed the budget remains under stress from every angle, despite recent gains in the prices of key commodities such as coal.

Weak growth in wages and low inflation are sapping revenue growth for a budget biased toward income taxes, while the passage of bills aimed at saving costs have been stalled.

Dow Jones