The Australian dollar has nudged lower despite the greenback falling overnight due to a sell off sparked by profit taking.

At 0700 AEST on Friday, the local currency was trading at 73.54 US cents, down from 73.68 cents on Thursday.

The Aussie initially bounced in the overnight session to 74.17 US cents but later slid to 73.57 US cents, before easing a little further on Friday morning.

Kathy Lien, MD, BK Asset Management, said the Aussie ended the New York session largely unchanged “right dab in the middle of its two week long range”.

She said the US dollar had moved lower even though US jobless claims fell by 26,000 to 255,000, more than economists had expected.

“Considering that jobless claims dropped to its lowest level in 40 years and the leading index beat expectations, today’s decline is clearly fuelled by an overbought dollar,” Lien said.

Westpac strategist, Imre Speizer, tipped the Aussie to fall further, towards 73.30 US cents on Friday, with the release of China manufacturing figures a key factor.

The “eventual resumption of the strong US dollar trend should weigh on the Australian dollar during the next few months”, he said.

AAP