THE Australian dollar is lower, driven down by strong US data, a weak local inflation measure and a bleak federal government budget forecast.
At 5pm AEST the local unit was trading at 89.07 US cents, down from 89.58 cents yesterday.
The US dollar was strengthened overnight after US jobless claims dropped to their lowest level in almost six years and an Institute for Supply Management manufacturing report for July also came in much stronger than expected.
Locally, the producer price index (PPI) for the June quarter - a measure of prices at the factory or farm gate before transport and other costs are added - rose 0.1 per cent, lower than the 0.3 per cent rise in March quarter, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.
ANZ foreign exchange strategist Andrew Salter said the local currency also came under pressure after the federal government said the budget deficit was now expected to be $30.1 billion in 2013/14, rather than the $18 billion estimated in the May budget.
