The Australian dollar fell, despite getting a boost from a 2 per cent surge on the Shanghai share market during the local trading day.
At 5pm AEDT the Australian dollar was trading at 105.56 US cents, down from Friday's local close of 105.82 US cents.
The Australian dollar opened the local session at 7am AEDT at 105.43 US cents after dropping 0.4 US cents during weekend offshore trading in response to weaker-than-expected US trade figures.
The Australian dollar fell further to its intraday low of 105.22 US cents after local data showed job advertisements were down 3.8 per cent in November and the number of new housing loans slid 0.5 per cent in the month.
However, the currency soared during afternoon trade to climb back above the 105.50 US cent level, buoyed by the strong rally on the Chinese stock market.
“The Australian dollar is very sensitive to all things Chinese when it comes to economic activity,'' CMC Markets foreign exchange dealer Tim Waterer said. “The Australian dollar was effectively able to absorb that data weakness and trot higher on the afternoon courtesy of the Shanghai Composite.''
At 5pm AEDT the Shanghai Composite was up 2.49 per cent.
The euro continued to be one of the standout currencies in the market in response to encouraging news from the region and upbeat commentary last week from the European Central Bank president Mario Draghi.
At 5pm AEDT the Australian dollar was at 78.85 euro cents, down 1.2 per cent from Friday's local close of 79.80 euro cents.
“In relative terms the euro has been a better performer than the Aussie,'' Mr Waterer said.
Mr Waterer said a speech from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke during the offshore session would be closely watched for more clarity about the US central bank's quantitative easing (economic stimulus) program.
He said that 106 US cents could be within reach for the Aussie if Mr Bernanke struk a market-appeasing tone.
