The Australian dollar has been an underperformer but is still slightly higher against its US counterpart which has fallen amid a sharp slump in oil prices.

At 0635 AEST on Monday, the Australian dollar was worth 79.11 US cents, up from 79.07 US cents on Friday.

Westpac’s Imre Speizer said the US dollar index had fallen around 0.5 per cent to a 13-month low, while the local currency had basically held its ground amid a drop in commodities prices.

“Underperformer AUD ranged sideways between 0.7905 and 0.7935, perhaps held back by the fall in oil and iron ore (-1.3 per cent),” Speizer said in a morning note.

He expected the Aussie dollar to stabilise.

“After a frenetic rally last week, some consolidation between 0.7800 and 0.8000 is warranted.”

The Australian dollar is down slightly against the yen and the euro.

AAP

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