The Australian dollar is weaker trading this morning at 91.77 US cents, down from 91.83 cents on Tuesday.
The currency held above Tuesday’s closing levels for much of the offshore session, but it dipped shortly after 0600 AEST as traders analysed the IMF’s trimmed world economic expectations.
The IMF forecast 3.1 per cent growth for 2013, down from April’s forecast of 3.3 per cent.
BK Asset Management managing director Kathy Lien said the news did little to hit the Australian dollar because traders had already factored in a growth slowdown in China.
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“In order for the Aussie to really extend its losses, we need to see overwhelmingly bad news and while the IMF did downgrade China’s growth, they’re kind of stating the obvious and it’s not as much of a shock,” she said from New York.
A report on speculative currency trading by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed the Australian dollar had been oversold since June, when the US Federal Reserve signalled it could end stimulus measures by mid-2014.
“Short positions in the Australian dollar have hit record highs,” Lien said.
“The Australian dollar’s been fairly resilient today. This has a lot to do with the fact the Australian dollar is extremely over-sold.”
