Dollar falls lower, to US66c

THE Australian dollar was lower at noon as investors abandoned the high-yielding currency after heavy falls on local and overseas equity markets and ahead of a meeting of world leaders in Washington on the weekend. At 12.00PM (AEDT), the Australian dollar was trading at $US0.6660/68, down about 2.6 US cents from yesterday's close of $US0.6922/27. During the morning, the local currency traded between a low of $US0.6618 and a high of $US0.6880. The Australian dollar touched $US0.7100 during overnight trading, but backtracked dramatically in the 90 minutes before the start of the local session to open at $US0.6841/46 at 0700 AEDT. The local currency's decline was in line with a sharp sell-off in US equity markets, where the major indices fell to their lowest levels in five years. Easy Forex senior dealer Francisco Solar said... [read full story]